Working Title: Sinful Elements
by Pride-of-Slytherin2
Summary: The Trio go back to Hogwarts for their final year, thinking that an inter-house room mate project is the worst they have to face. Unfortunately, despite the end of the war, someone is out to cause trouble. Warning: plot relevant slash/self harm/EDs.
1. Just like everybody else

**Author's note: **

This is mostly DH compliant, (excluding a few characters who should be dead but aren't for the sake of this story). Obviously ignore the epilogue!

There's likely to be slash & femmelash, so if that's an issue stop here! Also possible warnings for self-harm/eating disorders/other potentially triggering things later on BUT they **will** be plot relevant.

* * *

><p>Sat at her kitchen table, Hermione chewed her pen, adding things to a list next to her. Two slices of toast sat on a plate to her left, half-eaten and nibbled on when she remembered it was there.<p>

"Are you alright dear?" Her mother asked, watching her daughter frown at her list.

"Yes, I'm just trying to work out what I need for school."

"Oh I see." Her mother said, letting the matter drop since she knew she could be of no real help to her daughter regarding school.

Hermione looked down at her list again. She didn't _need _a new cauldron, or certain rare potions ingredients she'd put on the list. They were luxuries and she knew she shouldn't. After all, this year was probably going to be so busy she wouldn't have time to devote to private experiments or extra credit research. She sighed and crossed out the ingredients and the cauldron. She didn't have that much to buy really, some basic ingredients for Potions, a new school bag, some quills, and her school books. Her school robes from last year still fitted her quite well, and as Head Girl, she'd probably spend most of her time in her common room anyway, where she would be able to wear her own clothes. For a second, that thought made her pause, considering who Head Boy would be. She shook her head, she'd just have to wait and see.

"….Hermione dear?" Her mother's voice bought Hermione back to Earth with a crash.

"Sorry mum, what?"

Her mother laughed. "You were in your own little world there. I said, I've just been paid, and I feel the need to spend lots of money. How about we go on a little shopping spree when we go to get your school stuff today? Get you some clothes to take to school with you, some girly stuff. We'll be in London anyway, so why don't we make a day of it; head around the clothes shops, get your school stuff, some lunch….Generally spend a small fortune?"

Hermione smiled. That was so like her mother, to go clothes shopping when they both _had _enough clothes. Well….Hermione thought about it. She didn't really have many. Enough for if she'd been at an ordinary school, where she'd only wear her own clothes at weekends but at Hogwarts, where she would most likely be wearing her own clothes seven days a week, her clothes supply looked fairly pitiful.

"Yeah sounds fun. I need to go to the bank though; I have a _lot _of clothes to buy." Hermione laughed.

"Don't you worry about that. You just get your school stuff, and I'll worry about your clothes."

She finished her toast and headed upstairs to change, leaving her mother frowning slightly after her.

* * *

><p>Dressed at last, Hermione walked slowly down the stairs, looking over her list once more, and paused as she heard her parents talking in the kitchen.<p>

"…I'm worried about her!" Jean, Hermione's mother, whispered furiously.

"Why?" Hermione's father asked, sounding frustrated, "She seems fine."

"Exactly!"

"You WANT her to be depressed?" He asked incredulously.

"Of course not!" Jean said indignantly, "But aside from crying when she first found out, she seems too happy. She was heartbroken, and suddenly she's happy go lucky again? Something doesn't add up."

"Maybe she just realised he wasn't worth her time or her tears," Hermione's father said calmly.

"Maybe," Jean replied dubiously "but…."

"Leave her be Jean, if she wants to talk, she will. In the meantime, she seems okay, why remind her about everything that happened?"

Jean sighed, "I know you're right."

Hermione stayed where she was for a moment, still sat where she'd paused halfway down the stairs, and tried to slow her heart rate. She'd been carefully not thinking about the events of early summer, and every time she did think of it, it felt like she couldn't breathe. To be reminded again…She shook her head furiously and stepped into the kitchen, _Dad's right, he's not worth it…._

* * *

><p>Twirling his wand between his fingers as he walked along Diagon Alley, Draco watched Hermione enter it and literally bump into the boy she'd been hoping to avoid. She smiled at everyone else with him and continued walking, refusing to even look at the redhead when he called after her.<p>

_Interesting, _he thought, _I half expected the bushy brunette to forgive the Weasel. Good for her._ Not that he liked her as a person of course; he was just impressed she seemed to have developed a bit of a backbone over the summer.

Having lost interest now the drama was over, Draco decided he'd better do his school shopping, and picked up his things, musing to himself. _Everyone thinks I'm rich and powerful and evil, but I didn't even make Head boy. And two days before school, where do you find me? Shopping in Diagon Alley; same as everybody else at Hogwarts._

* * *

><p>Having bumped into Harry, Hermione chattered away happily. Freed from having to worry about buying more clothes, she also decided that she could allow herself a little extra spending money for luxuries, and tried to decide what to buy whilst simultaneously talking non-stop.<p>

The arrival of two large owls distracted her however, and she and Harry frowned down at the letters they recognised as being from Hogwarts.

"Why don't we go and sit in a café and get some drinks while you two read those?" Jean said smiling.

Absently Hermione followed and sat under a large purple umbrella, as her mother bought a coffee for herself and a hot chocolate for her daughter.

"_Dear Ms Granger," _Hermione read aloud_  
>"This year at Hogwarts, in the spirit of inter-house relations and as a compulsory substitute for Muggle Studies lessons, each of the sixth and seventh year students will live with one other student. You will be set tasks to achieve and you will be graded at the end of the year.<em>

_In order to promote inter-house co-operation, students will be unable to choose their housemate. Instead, the questionnaire below has been charmed to register your instinctive responses. Whichever student best matches your answers will be your housemate, and a large percentage of the pairs will be boy/girl so as to minimize violence…."_

Harry continued, _"The questionnaire is made up of three sections; your academic preferences; so as to ensure your homework compatibility, your house preferences; so as to ensure you feel comfortable in your own home, and your roommate preferences; so as to ensure compatibility between yourself and your partner. In addition to this your academic ability will also be taken into account since in a number of classes you will be expected to partner your house mate."_

Hermione began to read the questions aloud, vaguely noticing that as she did her answers were appearing on the page.

_"Your Academic preferences," _She started, voice shaking slightly. _"Please number the following subjects in order of how enjoyable you find them (1 being most enjoyable, 11 being least)  
>[6] Ancient Runes<br>[5] Arithmancy  
>[9] Astronomy<br>[8] Care of Magical Creatures  
>[2] Charms<br>[3] Defence Against The Dark Arts  
>[11] Divination<br>[7] Herbology  
>[10] History of Magic<br>[4] Potions  
>[1] Transfiguration<em>

_If you happened to have homework from all eleven subjects, which five would you attempt first? (please tick or cross the appropriate five)_  
><em>[ ] Ancient Runes<em>  
><em>[ ] Arithmancy<em>  
><em>[ ] Astronomy<em>  
><em>[ ] Care of Magical Creatures<em>  
><em>[x] Charms<em>  
><em>[x] Defence Against The Dark Arts<em>  
><em>[ ] Divination<em>  
><em>[x] Herbology<em>  
><em>[ ] History of Magic<em>  
><em>[x] Potions<em>  
><em>[x] Transfiguration<em>

_Would you prefer to complete homework:_  
><em>[ ] In free periods<em>  
><em>[ ] As soon as classes end<em>  
><em>[x] About an hour after classes end<em>  
><em>[ ] After dinner<em>  
><em>[ ] The day its due<em>

_How early do you start revising for exams?_  
><em>[ ] September<em>  
><em>[x] Three months before<em>  
><em>[ ] I plan three months before but start more like a month before<em>  
><em>[ ] Two weeks before<em>  
><em>[ ] A couple of days before"<em>

She stopped reading and looked over her answers as Harry did the same. After a moment, she continued to read.

_"Your House preferences,  
>Please number the following options in order of importance (1 being most important, 7 being least important)<br>[1] Large Library/Study  
>[5] Large kitchen<br>[6] Separate bathrooms  
>[4] Comfortable living room<br>[2] Large bedrooms  
>[7] Games room<br>[3] Area for extra credit projects (e.g. with cauldrons etc)_

_Please select up to three of the following for your preference for the exterior of your house_  
><em>[x] Brick<em>  
><em>[ ] Marble<em>  
><em>[ ] Wood<em>  
><em>[x] Dark<em>  
><em>[ ] Light<em>  
><em>[ ] White<em>  
><em>[x] Mossy<em>  
><em>[ ] Modern<em>

_Your roommate preferences,_  
><em>Do you tend to go to bed:<em>  
><em>[ ] Before 9 pm<em>  
><em>[x] Before 11pm<em>  
><em>[ ] After midnight<em>

_Do you tend to get up:_  
><em>[x] Before 8 am<em>  
><em>[ ] Before 11 am<em>  
><em>[ ] After 11 am<em>

_Please select the three traits below that would irritate/upset you most:_  
><em>[ ] Refuses to stop talking<em>  
><em>[x] Fussy about food (please note you will be expected on occasion to prepare meals together, without magic)<em>  
><em>[ ] Shy<em>  
><em>[x] Smokes<em>  
><em>[ ] Messy<em>  
><em>[x] Refusal to co-operate with the program"<em>

The two students looked at each other in silence for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"This is gonna be a disaster!" Harry said

Ron had followed Ginny over when she ran after Harry, and stood behind Hermione uncomfortably, pretending not to listen. Finally he spoke, making her jump as he muttered to himself, "At least none of our answers will match the Slytherin lot. Thank God."

Trying to suppress her instinctive reaction to run away and/or yell at him Hermione just smiled. "Well, we can hope."

Jean watched on, alert for the need to intervene, but relaxed slightly as she saw how calmly her daughter was facing the boy who'd left her heartbroken barely six weeks ago.

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy paced restlessly as he read through the letter again, now with his completed answers. Some of them irritated him – like the fact he'd ranked a large library above a comfortable living room, and the fact he'd put Defence Against the Dark Arts among his top five preferred subjects. Others embarrassed him – like the accurate description of his sleeping habits.<p>

He shook his head. _It's not like it matters, _he thought wryly, _No one is going to trust me enough to agree to live with me._

Sighing, he resigned himself to the fact he'd be living alone for his repeated seventh year. Given the turmoil of last year, the entire magical population had ended up repeating the previous academic year.

His thoughts turned again to the mystery of the new Head Boy. _Potter? Gets in trouble too often. The Weasel? No chance. Blaise? Clever enough, but not exactly responsible. Theo? Ridiculously intelligent, but can't see anyone coming to talk to him if they've got problems. That Hufflepuff boy? Maybe…_

More disappointed than he cared to admit, he'd shrugged it off when his mother asked him if he was upset he hadn't received Head Boy.

_But then, I'm hardly role model material am I?_

He looked up as yet another owl flew in through his window. It said only, '_Permission to floo into Malfoy Manor requested, Professor McGonagall'_.

He frowned but sent back the required yes, turning to the fireplace in time to see McGonagall stepping out and passing him a third letter.

_"Dear Mr Malfoy,_  
><em>As you may be aware, we have not yet chosen a Head Boy. I understand if you do not wish to be burdened with the responsibility, but I happen to believe you are both intelligent enough, and responsible enough, to keep up with the demands of the job if you so wish.<em>

_Due to alternate arrangements this year, the job itself will mainly comprise of organising the Prefect rounds on the trains, as well as organising the assorted balls throughout the year._

_My own impressions that you would be well suited for the task are supported by those of Professors McGonagall and Snape, who also expressed wishes for you to be placed in the role._

_Sincerely_  
><em>Headmaster Dumbledore"<em>

Draco stood in shock, reading and re-reading snatches of the letter for almost a full minute before he looked up at McGonagall.

"Okay." He nodded. "I'll do it."

* * *

><p>Stepping onto the train, Hermione saw the regular carriages towards the back of the train, before a large carriage with the word 'Prefects' written across the front.<p>

She headed into the Prefects carriage, her Head Girl badge proudly pinned on the side of her robes.

Smiling at Ginny, Ron, Luna and Ernie, Hermione sat down and waited for the others to arrive. Slowly the carriage filled up, and Hermione smiled to people as they entered. A momentary hush fell on the carriage when Draco Malfoy walked in, complete with Head Boy badge, but Hermione swallowed her anxiety when he spoke to her courteously.

"Granger," He said evenly. "Good summer?"

She shrugged, "Can't complain. You?"

He shrugged as well.

Eventually, the other prefects, whilst not openly welcoming of him, spoke civilly, and he nodded to her slightly as he went to talk to Theodore Nott and Pansy, the Slytherin prefects. Once all the prefects had arrived, the Heads managed to assign people for their rounds on the train with no significant arguments, and everyone left for their compartments.

* * *

><p>"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed as the thestral drawn carriages approached Hogwarts.<p>

"Wha'?" Ron asked blankly, spewing Bertie Botts everywhere.

She looked at him in disgust briefly. "Doesn't it look sorta...different to you?"

Harry and Ginny, who had been wrapped up in each other turned to look, "I guess...the Forbidden Forest looks smaller." Harry said, peering through the window.

"And where's the Quidditch pitch?!" Ginny asked, shocked.

"I dobe no," Ron said through the pumpkin pasty he was now eating. At Hermione's revolted look he swallowed the enormous bite. "But they better not be getting rid of Quidditch for our last year!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her book as the other three got more and more wound up by the possible lack of a Quidditch pitch.

* * *

><p>As everyone tucked into dinner, Hermione thought about the unofficial welcome party next week and realised she wasn't looking forward to it at all.<p>

Ginny had invited her to a party in the Gryffindor common room, and although she knew the party would be full of the housemates she'd been with for years, she also knew that chances were she'd get left in a corner alone. Harry, Ron and Ginny would spend the evening talking about Quidditch. She also knew that the only time she was likely to be spoken to was when Harry and Ginny were all over each other, at which point Ron would get very uncomfortable and come over to ineptly try and get the two of them back together. As fuming as she was at Ron, telling him so would just mean he'd run off to Lavender and Hermione would be left standing alone again. All in all it was a pretty unappealing sounding party.

She let that trail of thought drop as Professor McGonagall stood up. "As I'm sure many of you are aware, we have implemented a new project in place of Muggle Studies for those students in sixth and seventh year. I would ask each of you to check the lists on the notice boards in your common rooms, as next to each of your names will be a teacher's name, a time and a meeting place. I must stress, the purpose of these is so as to ensure your safety. Due to the staggered times and various meeting points, you are entirely able, if you so wish, to keep the identity of your housemate private. I trust all of you will do your best to make your housemate feel welcome and to follow in the programme." She finished abruptly and sat back down.

Hermione felt a twinge of both excitement and nervousness. Who would she be living with?

* * *

><p>Students pushed each other roughly, determined to find themselves on the lists. Hermione bit her lip as someone stood on her foot, and tried to remain patient. Upon finally seeing the notice board Hermione found that she was to meet McGonagall herself, at Hagrid's, in 15 minutes.<p>

"I guess I'll head off now then," She said to Harry, Ron, Ginny and Neville who had all been looking at her expectantly. "I've got Professor McGonagall so I'd better not be late."

The four nodded and wished her luck.

* * *

><p>Blaise raised his eyebrows. "Did you notice you're the only one who's got Snape?" he murmured to Draco.<p>

Draco raised his eyebrows, "So?"

"Just think there must be a reason you've got the only really high ranking teacher. Everyone else has got Hagrid, Filch, Hooch, etc. You're the only one with a head of house."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You're making way too much of this."

"We'll see." Blaise said, unruffled as Draco laughed at him.


	2. I'm used to being lonely

Having followed McGonagall a short way into the Forbidden Forest, Hermione was stunned to find the most beautiful house there.

The Transfiguration professor stopped. "I trust you understand how the Fidelius charm works by now Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded quickly.

"I also trust you have suspicions regarding your new housemate." The Professor said looking at Hermione warmly.

Hermione swallowed her nervousness. "I think I can guess, as I'm the only student you were guiding, that it's someone you think may cause...conflict."

Professor McGonagall nodded slightly and Hermione was both pleased at her success and made nervous by the same fact.

"Quite right as usual." The Professor flashed her a tiny smile. "Mr Malfoy will be your new housemate."

Hermione tried to remain calm and nodded slightly. _Maybe it won't be so bad, I mean he was being civil on the train? _She laughed slightly hysterically, _yeah right, he's still Malfoy!  
><em>

"Would you like me to wait with you until Mr Malfoy arrives?" McGonagall asked kindly.

Hermione shook her head, "It's okay, I think I'd just like to look around inside."

The Professor nodded. "There are folders on the kitchen table with your instructions," she said before she walked away, and Hermione started towards the front door of her new home.

The first thing Hermione noticed when she walked in was that everything was cream. _Well, _she corrected herself as she saw the dark wood floor, _not quite everything._ Her initial impression hadn't been far wrong though; the hallway she was standing in had cream walls, and everything else she could see seemed to be the same. Looking to her left she saw a large study, again with cream walls and dark wood floor, as well as dark wood bookcases and a large dark wood table in the centre. On her right was the living room, bare apart from a cream sofa and a fireplace. Walking past the stairs for now, Hermione continued into the spacious kitchen, which took up the whole rear half of the house. At one end was a fully equipped kitchen, at the other, a dining table and two chairs, as well as a sliding glass door into the garden. Peering through the glass, Hermione saw a dark wood decking, leading down to a small garden. She noticed two large folders and a book of some kind on the dining table but decided to keep exploring and come back. Heading back to the stairs, Hermione wandered up them and found a corridor with three doors in front of her, and one behind. Heading through the door immediately in front of her, she found a bathroom, again all in cream. One door at each side of the bathroom led to a large bedroom, and Hermione assumed the other two doors in the hallway had also led to these. The door behind her, she found, led to a huge empty room, that she assumed was for extra credit projects.

Returning to the folders on the kitchen table, she found two large purple ring binders, a letter and what seemed to be a large white scrapbook. Looking at the ring binders, she saw that one had 'Hermione Granger' written on the front, while 'Draco Malfoy' was written on the front of the other. Just as she picked up the letter, she heard the door open, and turned to see none other than Draco Malfoy walking through the front door. Unsure what to do or say she hesitated before saying awkwardly, "hi". He nodded back at her and walked through to the kitchen to stand beside her.

"Hi," he said quietly. "You looked around already?"

She nodded, "Study and living room down here, shared bathroom, two big bedrooms and a big empty room upstairs – extra credit area I imagine."

He nodded again. "What's with the cream?"

"No idea," she laughed slightly, "It's everywhere."

"How interesting," he drawled sarcastically. He looked down at the letter in her hand, "Instructions?"

"I guess so," she agreed, "I haven't read it yet."

He stepped closer, and she tried to ignore how close he was as they began to read.

'_Dear students,  
>By now, you will have been shown to your houses and met your roommates. Although co-operation between the two of you is imperative, it will take much more for a good grade. The course has a large number of requirements, tailored to inter-house co-operation, muggle studies and hopefully, self-development. The two folders contain a list of the tasks you are expected to observe. Your partner will not be able to read your folder since although the majority of tasks are to be completed together; there are some individual tasks as well.<em>

_One of the tasks you are required to complete is making a scrapbook of your year together. A charm has been placed on the house to take regular photographs._

_I wish you the best of luck in achieving the best grades possible in this project_  
><em>Professor McGonagall.'<em>

For a moment, the two of them merely stared at each other before opening the folder to see what tasks they were expected to complete.

He groaned, "There's loads!"

Hermione stared for a moment, inclined to agree. The tasks were divided into four categories; 'Getting to know each other', 'Muggle entertainment', 'Skills' and most ominously, 'Crucial tasks'. On top of these they had individual tasks to complete as well.

"I suppose some of them aren't really work though," She mused, "Watching movies, reading books..."

"What the bloody hell is a movie?!" Draco burst out.

She smothered a giggle, "It's like..." she pondered over how to explain it. "You know how wizard photographs move?" He nodded slowly, "Well it's like that, only with a plot. Sorta like a book told by a moving picture." She finished, feeling that it wasn't a great explanation but that it would have to do.

"Uh huh..." He didn't look convinced.

"You'll like them I think," She smiled. "It's like reading an entire book in a couple of hours, with sound and colours and characters you can see."

"We'll see." He said dubiously. "Maybe we should put a list of these up somewhere so we can keep track of how many we have left to do and what we've done?"

"Definitely," She agreed, "The study?"

They moved through to the study, which had comfy chairs at the far end, bookshelves at the other, and a large table in the middle. One wall had a window, which only really left the wall immediately on your right once you'd walked in.

Hermione took the list out of her folder and whispered, "Engorgio", expanding it to approximately A3 size and sticking it to the wall. For a moment longer they stared at it. 

'**Getting to know eachother – discuss the following questions**  
>If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?<br>If you had to choose three adjectives to describe you, what would they be?  
>If you were stranded on a desert island…What items would you take? Which one person?<br>What do you dislike most about yourself?  
>What do you like most about yourself?<br>If you were granted three wishes what would you ask for?  
>What do you do when you feel saddepressed?  
>Do you believe in love at first sight?<br>Make a list of words A-Z to describe yourself. Also ask your friends to compile a second list about you  
>The 50 questions quiz (see the back of the folder)<br>Life lists (see the back of the folder)  
>Make a list of words A-Z to describe each other. Trade and discuss, as well as comparing this list to the other two.<br>Play Truth or Dare, 2 truths and a lie and never have I ever

**Muggle entertainment**

_Films_  
>Disney films:<br>The Lion King,  
>The Little Mermaid,<br>Pocahontas,  
>Beauty and the beast<p>

Sci-fi films:  
>Avatar,<br>The Matrix,  
>X-men,<br>Star wars

Musicals:  
>Moulin Rouge,<br>Chicago,  
>Phantom of the Opera,<br>The King and I

Typically 'female' films:  
>Pretty Woman,<br>Mean Girls,  
>The Notebook,<br>Time-travellers wife

Typically 'Male' films:  
>Rome,<br>Gladiator,  
>Indiana Jones,<br>Any James Bond film

_Books_  
>Romeo and Juliet<br>The Hobbit  
>Pride and Prejudice<p>

_Games_  
>Twister<br>Monopoly  
>Dance mat<br>Scrabble

**Skills**

_Cooking_  
>Choose and cook 3 recipes in one week<br>Choose and cook 3 recipes in one week  
>Choose and cook 3 recipes in one week<br>Choose and cook 3 recipes in one week  
>Choose and cook 3 recipes in one week<p>

_Exercise_  
>Try 5 different types<br>Follow one 3 times a week for 2 weeks  
>Follow one 3 times a week for 2 weeks<br>Follow one 3 times a week for 2 weeks  
>Try 5 different types<br>Follow one 3 times a week for 2 weeks  
>Follow one 3 times a week for 2 weeks<br>Follow one 3 times a week for 2 weeks

**Crucial tasks**  
>Throw a dinner party<br>Choose colour schemes and furnishings  
>Decorate for Christmas together<br>Have a movie night  
>Buy each other Christmas gifts,<br>Scrapbook  
>Spend at least 1 night a fortnight with both sets of friends<br>"A Week away"

Flicking through the folder, Hermione saw a short description to go with each task such as, "Buy each other Christmas gifts – the two of you must agree on a budget. Gifts must be thoughtful. Prank or hurtful gifts will result in failure of this task and a potential loss of marks for the course overall"

"I don't even know where to start." Hermione murmured, wondering how the two of them could ever be civil enough to complete such a list.

"Well, we could start by planning some of the vague ones," Draco said calmly, "and if we decided on colour schemes and furnishings tonight that'd be one task out of the way on the first day."

She stared at him a moment, as if waiting for him to announce he was joking but then sat down at the table and said, "That's really a very good idea."

He sat opposite her, and she summoned a quill and parchment. "The recipes," she said, "we could choose a theme and pick three recipes to go with it?"

"Like different types of food you mean?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Well what about, Indian, Chinese or Thai, Italian and...erm..." he trailed off.

"Traditional stuff?" She asked, "Like a roast dinner, shepherd's pie?"

Draco nodded enthusiastically.

"And desserts?" She continued, "Although I don't know whether that's considered kind of a cop-out."

"No it sounds good to me," he grinned.

Hermione hurriedly began writing these ideas down.

"And the exercise?" Draco continued. "If we come up with ten types, then we can just pick our favourites when it comes to following one."

She sighed, "I hate exercise."

"Really?" He asked bemused.

"Really," she answered. "I'm sort of..." she blushed, "unfit. And I really hate running. That kinda spoils most sports for me."

He grinned. "So we'll put running down. Once you get better at it, you'll start to like it. And we'll put down stuff that's not running, like swimming, and horse riding, and ice skating." He continued enthusiastically.

For a moment she stared again, and then said, "That's very nice of you."

He debated ignoring her comment but then sighed, "Look Granger, we might not be exactly best mates, but I'm hardly the Dar...You-Know-Who's best mate either. Without that getting in the way, I figure civility isn't too hard to manage."

She had noticed the way he corrected saying 'The Dark Lord' with 'You-Know-Who' and was impressed, taking it as a lack of allegiance to him.

She smiled, "What about martial arts?" She asked.

"Er...what?" he looked baffled at the sudden subject change.

"As a sport." She said. "You know, self-defence?"

He nodded, "Okay. That's still only five though."

"Gymnastics and hiking..." She continued. "Dance..." she trailed off. "I wonder, maybe we could sort out a circuit training thing? Like an outdoor one with lots of different things mixed in?"

"Sounds fun," he grinned, "but you'll have to get fitter before then!" he laughed.

"And I will. You'll just have to yell at me when I can't be bothered."

"Oh I will," he smirked.

She ignored the evil glint in his eyes, "We still need one more."

"You missed the most obvious one," he grinned back, "Quidditch."

"Nuh uh," she shook her head. "I don't fly."

"Guess you're about to learn." He said in a tone that clearly meant he wouldn't tolerate argument, "I put down some easy things for you, but you're not getting out of Quidditch."

She swallowed and decided to change the subject. Maybe they'd have killed each other by then anyway.

"Decorating?" she asked.

He nodded. "Start with the living room?"

"We need something sort of neutral, since it's likely to be where we're going to spend most time, plus I imagine it's where we'll end up if we have people here." She said. "Purple? Green and brown? Black and gold?"

The room flickered through different colours as she spoke. "The purple's too dark," he said. "What about kinda light blue and grey?"

They waited as the room adjusted, the fireplace mantel changing to grey marble, the walls to a medium corn flour blue, the floor to grey and the sofa slate grey with bright blue cushions.

They looked at each other, "It's nice," she said.

He stared a moment longer, "It's very...light. It doesn't really have an impact. Try cream and brown," he said, half afraid it'd be even _more_ bland. The walls changed to a light coffee colour, the fireplace a light maple colour with a dark mantel that matched the floor, while the sofa became a brown corner couch with cream cushions.

She grinned, "That's nicer."

They passed through to the hallway, "We could keep the same floor all the way through the downstairs, leave the hallway cream with some pictures on the walls?"

He nodded, not even noticing the pictures that sprang up.

"Red." He said firmly for the kitchen. Looking at the red glass behind the stove, and the red chairs at the dining table she quickly agreed.

"You know, Granger," Malfoy began nonchalantly, as they headed through to the study, "There's a Slytherin welcome party on Friday night." She looked at him sharply, wondering where he was going with this. "Well, I just figured, in the spirit of the project and all..."

She said "I'll think about it", mentally deciding she had no interest in going.

They agreed on blue for the study, and green for the extra credit project which just left the bathroom and bedrooms to deal with.

Walking into the bathroom, they quickly decided on black and white, and stood for a moment, unsure which bedroom to take and whether they had to decorate these together too.

Finally Draco stepped to the door on the left, "Okay if I take this one?" She nodded and headed through the door on the right.

Stepping into it, she saw the room had obviously been left a strange L shape due to the size of the bathroom, and that the alcove where the bathroom stopped had been turned into a walk in wardrobe. She decided on grey and pink for her room; resulting in a thick dark pink carpet, and dark grey walls, with a raspberry pink bedspread and lamp.

Draco meanwhile, had decided on black and gold for his room, black carpet and a black bedspread, balanced out by three gold walls, a gold comforter on his bed, and black and gold wallpaper on the wall behind his bed.

_This year might not be so terrible after all, _Draco admitted to himself, _Even Granger's better than no roommate right?_


	3. So Simple

Hermione meanwhile, headed downstairs to get her folder. Sitting comfortably on the sofa with it, Hermione started writing in her diary, listing the pros and cons of both the Slytherin and Gryffindor parties. Although Malfoy's invite sounded intriguing, Hermione could admit, to herself at least, that it also sounded terrifying. Hermione wasn't sure she felt comfortable in a room with predominantly people she didn't know. She wasn't even sure how she'd been invited, as her and the Head Boy were hardly friends. Insecure in her relationship with the one person she did know would be at the Slytherin party, Hermione was terrified she'd end up alone there too. Realising she had no idea about which to choose, she began to contemplate just staying in her room for the night. It's not like she was a huge party animal, so she probably wasn't missing much.

She snapped her diary shut and shoved it underneath a cushion near her as she heard Draco open his door and come downstairs. Fixing himself a plate of food from the kitchen, the blonde threw a look at Hermione, noticing she looked unhappy. He shrugged it off as he realised she probably wouldn't tell him why, and it wasn't like he really cared anyway.

"So," he drawled casually, "Have you thought about the party?"

She looked at him, narrowing her eyes slightly as she tried to discern whether maybe she'd only been invited as a prank. Seeing nothing odd in his expression, she shrugged.

"Yes," she said finally, "But I was invited to a Gryffindor one too."

"Ah," he chuckled, "But let's be honest, it's not like you have anything in common with that group now."

She flinched slightly and he realised he'd struck a nerve, "I do." She said defensively, "Harry, Ron and I are best friends." She said like that settled it.

"Even so," Draco said, "I probably have more in common with you than they do, and we're hardly the best of friends."

She frowned unhappily, "You're wrong."

"You mean we are the best of friends? Why didn't anyone tell me?" He grinned as she started to get angry. "Okay, okay fine. But seriously Granger, you spent less and less time with them in our sixth year, clearly something's up."

She paused, "It's just….They spend most of their time talking about Quidditch, which I know nothing about, and Ron only really talks to me when Harry and Ginny are…. busy."

"So come to ours, problem solved." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She laughed bitterly, "Right, go to a party in the rival house's common room where I know a grand total of one person, and try and tell Harry and Ron in such a way as they don't get offended. Yeah, great plan, Malfoy."

"Well you have to pick one or the other, Granger" He said standing up and heading towards the door, "and seems like they haven't been particularly welcoming. Either one has to be better than being lonely." He said as he was leaving.

"I'm used to being lonely." Hermione muttered, "It's the only thing I can rely on these days," she finished, not knowing that Draco heard her as the front door swung shut. 

* * *

><p>Leaving Dumbledore's office, Draco hurried to the library to start making invitations, not letting himself wonder why on earth he'd thought this was a good idea. Twenty minutes later he was surrounded by piles of different coloured paper and groaned loudly - he didn't even know what colour to put the damn things on.<p>

"Problems, Malfoy?" Draco looked up to see Blaise sitting across from him and clearly trying not to laugh.

He muttered, "Something like that yeah."

"So are you gonna tell me what the issue is or do you not want help?"

Draco frowned at him for a moment, "You tell nobody this was me…"

"Of course not," Blaise grinned now that he knew he was going to be let in on the secret.  
><em><br>_

* * *

><p>Waking up at seven, Hermione shrank all her textbooks and put them in her bag, deciding it was best to be prepared since she didn't know what her timetable looked like. She heard the shower running, Malfoy presumably using it, so began to pull out her uniform, frowning at it. Hermione had always worn her skirt long, to just above the bottom of her knees, her tie regulation length, shirt tucked in and loose fitting. She didn't particularly relish the idea of being eschewed by the girls of Gryffindor again though, for being "too much of a bookworm to care what she looked like". She sniffed as Lavender's particularly hurtful comment came back to her. <em>I'll surprise them, <em>she decided resolutely, _I'm not just one of the boys. I don't even like Quidditch! _On that thought she headed through to the shower, since the water seemed to have stopped running.

After liberally using the coconut shower gel and fruity shampoo the bathroom was stocked with, Hermione stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a large fluffy black towel, to wander back through to her room and once again face the problem of a uniform. Waving her wand at her hair, drying it to soft waves rather than untameable frizz, she slipped into the uniform, and really looked at herself in the mirror. Five minutes later she was satisfied with the results; she'd made her skirt shorter – not unreasonably so, just a few inches above her knee – and made her shirt actually fit instead of being baggy. Her tie wasn't much shorter than regulation length, but her top button was undone. She certainly didn't look like the girl from last year. She smiled and headed off to breakfast.

When Hermione sat down next to Ron, opposite Harry, she was slightly disappointed to note that the boys didn't seem to have noticed a difference. Lavender however, had. "You look nice, Hermione," the girl said. Hermione braced herself for the stinging comment that was bound to follow but Lavender merely said, "Who know you had a decent figure under the shapeless uniform you wore last year." The boys looked up at last, looked at Hermione briefly, and then went back to their breakfast.

Hermione and Lavender just laughed.

"So," Ron asked attempting to sound casual, "Who are you sharing with?"

"Erm..." Hermione hesitated, but was thankfully spared from having to respond, as Lavender interrupted indignantly, "Can you believe I have to share with Zacharias bloody Smith?!"

Hermione resisted the urge to point out that yes she could believe it since the two were remarkably self-absorbed and irritating and turned back to the two boys instead.

"Hannah Abbott," Ron said, while Harry muttered "Daphne Greengrass."

Hermione was saved from further questions by the arrival of McGonagall with their timetables. Staring at her timetable, Hermione was surprised to note just how many free periods she had, considering that she was taking an unusually large number of subjects this year. Ron stared at her timetable, "Ouch," was all he said. She looked again, confused, considering she'd be finished by three o'clock every day, and by twelve on Fridays. Looking at Ron and Harry's timetable though, she understood. While her classes were packed, 9 till 3, Monday to Thursday, with just a gap for lunch, the boys had more free periods since they weren't taking Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. They were, she noticed (stifling a giggle), being made to retake History of Magic. A note attached to both their timetables said "Aurors with at least a nodding acquaintance with history are less likely to repeat the mistakes of others."

Hermione watched curiously as a school owl dropped off a pile of multicoloured envelopes in front of Harry. He passed one each to several people, including Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Dean, Seamus and Lavender.

Reading her name on the front of the golden envelope, Hermione turned it over, reading "Party of the Year!" across the seal. She scanned the invitation inside briefly, reading what seemed like masses of text.

"_Guest,_

_We would like to extend to you an invitation to what promises to be the best Welcome party in Hogwarts history._

_In case the envelopes didn't give it away, in the spirit of inter-house co-operation, this party is open to ALL houses._

_However, the door will only open to those with an invitation (and their guest if they so choose to bring one)._

_Regarding dress code; this is a masquerade ball. Muggle ball gowns and suits/tuxedos are expected, as are masks. See the poster that will have appeared in your common room this morning if you need ideas._

_We have arranged with Professor Dumbledore two evening trips to Hogsmeade for those in need of an outfit; one tonight, and one Thursday night._

_We are aware that for many, the welcome party is a chance to 'stake a claim' so to speak, on a partner for the year. We are also fully aware that not everyone wishes to be propositioned all evening. For this reason, we are operating a 'traffic light' system._

_For the girls: If you're already taken, wear a pink or red corsage. If you're simply not interested/have got your eye on someone in particular, wear a gold or yellow corsage. If you are possibly interested/actively seeking, wear a green corsage._

_For the men; follow the same approach, but instead, use the appropriate colour for the handkerchief/tie in the pocket of your tux/suit._

_Party starts at 8pm on Friday in the Room of Requirement."_

Hermione's mind was working feverishly fast as she scanned the invitation again. She slowly started to smile, "I think I'll go," she said softly. She had no idea who'd organised this, who'd be willing to deal with the planning, and who'd had the guts to go against the typical house prejudice, but something as simple as this party could be a huge step towards inter-house co-operation.

For a moment everyone continued talking, then Ron turned to glare at her. "What?"

She faltered for a second but then spoke firmly "I said I think I'll go."

"Why?" Ron asked irritated. "For all you know it could be a prank by the Slytherins, lure everyone there and then…I don't know."

"I don't think so, Ron. Lots of people have them, including the Slytherins. Luna's got one, Michael Corner," she continued to list names as she looked around the hall, "Hannah Abbott, Malfoy, Zabini…"

He muttered, "Still…we don't know who organised it…"

"Dumbledore's got one Ron," Harry said nudging the redhead, "I don't think we need to worry."

Ron's head shot up, "Yeah but so's Snape!" He said incredulously.

"And McGonagall…" Ginny said sounding surprised.

"It could be fun," Harry said speculatively.

Ron looked shocked but Ginny whole heartedly agreed, "Plus, we might manage to actually start talking to our roommates." She said throwing a look at Ron who blushed.

Eventually all four agreed to go, and Ginny promised to go to Hogsmeade with Hermione that night to help with dress ideas.

* * *

><p>In Hogwarts tradition, the seventh years had potions first. Since there were so few of them this year, there was only one class. Walking down to the dungeons, Hermione grit her teeth as Ron grumbled the whole way and Lavender trailed along murmuring sympathetically, something Hermione found particularly annoying since Lavender wasn't even taking potions. Relieved to at last reach the door, Hermione headed to a table in the middle of the room near the front, as Harry and Ron sat opposite her.<p>

Snape swept in, cloak billowing as always. "Granger, Malfoy" he pointed to a desk in the rear corner. He continued listing names and pointing to various different tables, "Potter, Greengrass"..."Weasley, Parkinson"... "Zabini, Longbottom"...

Once he'd finally directed everyone to a table, he leaned against his desk and began to speak. "Professor Dumbledore expressed a wish to me, that seventh year students be taught how to brew the contraceptive potion." There were a few sniggers and surprised faces. "Since Headmistress McGonagall agrees, that is what we'll be doing for the next week, possibly two."

The students gaped at the civility coming from the Potions Master and he rolled his eyes.

"The exam at the end of this year is much more laid back, and since you all choose to be here, I see no reason to talk to you like reluctant eleven year olds. Do not convince yourself however, that if you do something wrong, you will not be punished."

He glared at them sternly for a moment and then obviously decided they didn't intend to mess around. "There are," he pointed to a large box at the front of the room, "folders in there. Take one each. I expect organization, and good notes – if anyone produces something comparable to the drivel Mr Potter and Mr Weasley produced last year, they will leave."

Everyone scrambled to grab a folder then sat back down. Hermione opened hers; surprised to notice that in the front was a timetable for the year. _That's really very thoughtful of him, _she thought happily.

"Do we get study leave?" Ron asked, tacking "sir" on to the end hurriedly.

"We will have finished the syllabus," Snape drawled, looking unimpressed, "by the end of April. Perhaps earlier. After this time, I will hold revision sessions in place of these classes. I should remind you that you may be examined on anything from first year onwards. A list of revision topics from each year is included in your folders, and the revision session associated with each is next to it."

Everyone gaped at the Professor, still baffled by his civility. True, he had yet to smile, or say anything nice but...

"Returning to the matter of the contraceptive Potion. It is not a particularly difficult potion to brew, but it is highly personalised. Once you have made it once, it is very easy to do again, but it requires much preparation. The method varies slightly between males and females. Girls," he flicked his wand at the left side of the board, "need follow these instructions. Boys with a specific girl in mind need also follow these instructions. Boys without a specific girl in mind," he flicked his wand again, "see the other board."

Hermione, hurriedly copying the instructions down, blushed at some of the instructions. _I mean really, _she thought embarrassedly, _is it absolutely necessary to know when my last period was?!_

After a slightly awkward two hours, the students left, though not quite so hurriedly as usual. No points had been taken, and Snape had been almost...helpful.

* * *

><p>Meeting the boys for lunch after Arithmancy, Hermione was unsurprised to see that Ron had already piled his plate.<p>

"Let me guess," she said, looking slightly disgusted as Ron continued to wolf down his food. "The two of you did no work whatsoever in that hour you just had free?"

They looked at each other, clearly contemplating lying but then shrugged, abashed. She laughed at them, filling a plate for herself.

"So," Harry said, throwing Hermione a piercing look. "No getting out of it this time...Who are you sharing with?"

Ron stopped eating long enough to look at her when she mumbled, "Erm..well...Malfoy."

"MALFOY!" he exploded, attracting a large number of stares.

"Yes."

"But...He...You...No. Can't. Bad. WRONG!" Ron, seemingly slightly hysterical, ranted away.  
>Ginny sniggered but Hermione was less than impressed.<br>"He's been perfectly civil, thank you, Ron." Hermione said firmly, eyes narrowing.

"He's a Death Eater! He might attack you!"

"Because I'm not at all capable of taking care of myself, of course." she responded angrily.

Harry, seeing that things were likely to get even worse, chose that point to interrupt.

"So, you and Ginny are going to look for dresses tonight right? For the party thing on Friday night?"

Hermione looked baffled for a moment, but then nodded, "Yeah, I have no idea what sort of dress or colour or anything to get. So I'm getting Ginny to help," she smiled.

"You'll certainly find one," Harry said laughing, "that girl loves to shop."

* * *

><p>After over an hour of looking at dresses Hermione was feeling thoroughly deflated. Not one of the dresses she'd tried had been right, or even nearly right. Depressingly, Ginny had found the perfect dress in the first half an hour; a short puffball dress in gold that showed off her legs and made her look taller than she really was.<p>

Ginny took a deep breath and steeled herself, "We're going in here." She said firmly, dragging Hermione towards a posh looking dress shop titled simply 'Dazzle'.

The minute they walked in, a smiling woman descended on them, asking if they needed help.

"We're fine thank you," Ginny said, "We're just looking for now."

The woman huffed slightly but obligingly left them alone, and Hermione wandered the room, fully aware that she could never afford any of the dresses in here. And then she saw it, the perfect dress on a model at the back of the room. With a sweetheart neckline, full skirt and lace up back, the dress was pretty rather than sexy but still...Hermione knew it was designed to flatter a figure as much as possible. The copper colour was unusual, and the emerald lacing and beading stood out spectacularly. Staring at the dress dreamily, she jumped when the woman appeared again, "Would you like to try it on?"

Hermione fully intended to say no, but instead found herself being led into a dressing room. Ginny was lacing up the back of the dress before Hermione pulled herself back to reality, resigning herself to the fact it was sure to be a ridiculously large amount of money.

Gasping at her reflection, Hermione was amazed. The satin copper fabric shone and the dress showed off her figure tastefully, making it clear that Hermione Granger was no longer just a bookish girl.

When she slipped the dress back off, Hermione peered at the price tag and sighed regretfully. It really was a ludicrous amount of money. Still undecided, she asked the woman to reserve the dress for her until she could decide.


	4. Put your money where your heart is

Transfiguration on Tuesday morning was as laid back as Potions had been, with McGonagall explaining their course schedule for the year.

"To begin with," She said, "We will be revising inanimate to animate transfiguration, after which we will be covering self-transfiguration and defensive transfiguration."

She paused and looked at them all sternly, "Between Halloween and Christmas, we will also be teaching you how to find your animagus form", she paused as everyone began whispering, "but this is difficult magic, and anyone who treats the lessons frivolously will not be permitted to stay."

"This will not, I should add, teach you how to become a fully fledged animagus. It will teach you the theory, show you what your form would be, and teach you the required spells and exercises to practice should you wish to later take the full test. After Christmas we will be covering defensive transfiguration and conjuration, finishing the curriculum slightly before Easter."

Scribbling notes furiously, Hermione didn't notice that McGonagall looked at her contemplatively before continuing. "For the entirety of this class, you will be expected to work with your housemate if they are here. Everyone bring your things to the front, and stand with your partner."

Harry threw Hermione a sympathetic look while Ron glared at Malfoy, and she shrugged. She'd known they'd be paired together eventually, she'd just have to make the most of it.

Moving over to stand next to Malfoy, she glanced around the room curiously. She still didn't know who many of the Gryffindors were sharing with, and as she watched, some unexpected pairings were formed.

Hermione let her mind wander as each pair was directed to their places. Neville and Padma Patil were given the desk directly in front of McGonagall, no doubt because Neville's wand skills were still somewhat erratic. Next to them was Seamus and Theodore Nott, and the last desk was taken by Daphne Greengrass and Harry. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Millicent Bulstrode were directed to sit behind Neville and Padma, and the remaining two desks were given to Lavender and Zacharias Smith, and Parvati and Ernie MacMillan. The row behind that was taken by Tracey Davis and Dean, Ron and Hannah Abbott and Goyle and Susan Bones.

"Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy, this desk here please," McGonagall said at last, snapping Hermione back to attention. She slipped into the desk in the last row, smiling reassuringly at Harry who looked concerned.

The only people left standing were Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. "Who are your housemates?" McGonagall asked, frowning slightly. "Ginny Weasley," Pansy responded, surprisingly calmly, while Blaise muttered "Luna Lovegood".

McGonagall nodded, "The two of you can work together for this class, and I'll see if Ginny and Luna could be moved into the seventh year classes for their best subjects." 

* * *

><p>Wandering aimlessly around the house that evening, Hermione stopped to look at the pictures that had sprung up in the hallway. Neither she or Draco had paid any real attention when they'd appeared, and Hermione was dazzled by the quality. The downstairs hallway was filled with moving portraits of magical beings and creatures, like phoenixes, dragons and centaurs as well as a fantastic portrait of a wolf. Upstairs, the focus was more intimate, as Hermione noticed pictures of herself with Harry and Ron, Draco with Blaise and Theo, and other group shots, such as a year group photo. Hearing the front door slam, she debated hiding in her room but steeled herself to go downstairs instead.<p>

Draco was sat in the living room frowning when she walked in, and Hermione very seriously considered just sneaking away, she didn't want him to take his bad mood out on her. She sighed, knowing she wouldn't leave – her Gryffindor courage prevented her. Instead she sat on the other end of the corner couch, saying the first thing that came into her head.

"Cooking always makes me feel better. We could try a recipe tonight, and make some progress on those achievements." She said timidly.

For a moment he just stared at her. "I don't know how to cook," he admitted grumpily. "Don't get me wrong, I can make sandwiches and things like that, but my cooking skills are awful."

She hesitated, "I won't laugh. I can teach you."

He considered it for a moment. "If we have to do something I'm bad at...it seems fair that we should do something you're bad at too. I think we should try one of the exercises we picked first."

Ignoring the ball of dread in her gut, Hermione nodded nervously. "Which one?"

"Running. It'll get you fit the quickest, and I want to be outdoors."

She swallowed. "I'll just go get changed." 

* * *

><p>A little while later, they stood in front of the house, him talking her through the route he had in mind. "If we do five minutes of walking, that's enough to get warmed up. Then we'll alternate one minute of jogging, two minutes of walking for about twenty minutes. Around the lake and back to the house should be about right I think."<p>

"Twenty minutes?! You did hear the bit where I said I was super unfit right?"

"Relax, Granger, there's only actually seven minutes of jogging, and they're only one minute long each. You're supposed to be a brave Gryffindor; surely you can handle anything for 60 seconds?" He laughed.

"That's right, Malfoy, bring it on." Hermione challenged, eyes narrowed.

Setting off at a walk, Draco led the way through the trees towards the lake, trying to think of something to say to break the awkward silence that had fallen. "So...decided on a plan for Friday night yet?"

She looked at him, looking for a hint that he was winding her up but couldn't see anything. "I think we're going to go to the one in the Room of Requirement," she said finally.

Draco nodded, "I think that's what we're doing too, Blaise loves this traffic-light idea."

"It's really a very good idea," Hermione said, musing. "I wonder who organised it all."

"Who knows?" Draco replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "It could have been anyone, even a teacher."

"That's true," she agreed, "it'd be a good way to drill this inter-house unity thing in to everyone."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief, "Yeah, that's what we figured."

"Although," Hermione continued, oblivious to Draco's discomfort, "if it was the teachers, wouldn't they have asked us to organise it? I mean, that is our job."

"Maybe they thought we wouldn't want to get involved when we'd be dealing with our own house parties," Draco said, thinking frantically, "Or maybe they thought we wouldn't be able to agree on enough – Slytherin parties are probably drastically different to Hufflepuff ones." He sniggered.

Hermione bit her lip, obviously fretting about it, so Draco said the only thing he could think of: "Time to run!"

When the sixty seconds were up, she was clearly still worrying about it, so Draco decided to subtly change the topic a little.

"So, have you found a dress yet?"

She shook her head, waiting for her breath to come back so she could talk. "I found a gorgeous one, but it's so expensive...I can't spend that much on one dress!"

Draco raised an eyebrow, thinking about how differently she thought to some of the girls in his house. "How much is 'that much'?"

"It's not really that much," she admitted, "it's twenty-five Galleons. It's just because it's twenty-five galleons for one dress."

He opened his mouth to respond but then realised it was time to run again. He thought about it as they were jogging, and thought he'd found a solution by the time they were walking again

"Why don't you just make sure it's twenty-five galleons for more than one dress?" She stared at him like he'd lost the plot. "You're a witch, Granger, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to alter the colour or shape or something enough later on to wear it again. Twenty-five galleons for two or three dresses sounds much better."

She nodded, "That's true. I could alter the length with a sewing machine, or change the colour with magic, and Ginny's got such an eye for fashion I'm sure she'd be able to help...".

"Time to run again, Granger." Draco interrupted, laughing. 

* * *

><p>After the dreaded exercise and a long hot shower, Hermione was browsing the books in the study when she heard Draco come down the stairs and head into the kitchen.<p>

"Malfoy?" She called through, "There's a bunch of recipe books in here."

He stood in the doorway, looking slightly daunted at the pile of books she'd pulled out. "What are we cooking first?"

"Well, we have to cook at least three recipes a week, and we decided on the themes of Indian, Italian, Chinese/Thai, Traditional English and desserts right?" She continued once he nodded in agreement. "I don't think we want to start with desserts, because they can be quite complicated. It makes sense to start with something simpler for tonight. I think one of the tasks says we have to do a dinner party at some point, so later we could pick the recipes we like and-"

"Granger! You're rambling!" Malfoy interrupted looking exasperated. "Sorry I asked!"

She blushed furiously. "I was just trying to be organised! What's your favourite food?" She asked, obviously having had an idea.

He looked at her suspiciously, but honestly, what harm could there be in admitting his favourite food? "Shepherd's pie," he admitted grudgingly.

She smiled, "We could try that for tonight, it's not too difficult a recipe, and it's always more enjoyable cooking something you look forward to eating."

He shrugged, "Whatever, that works."

Picking up one of the recipe books, she led him through to the kitchen and began reading out the ingredients, "An onion, carrots, lamb mince, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, stock, potatoes, butter, milk... and that's it."

Draco shook his head, "And red wine."

"There's no red wine in the recipe here," Hermione frowned.

He shrugged, trying to sound careless. "My mum always puts some in," he admitted quietly. "She usually drinks some while she cooks too," he laughed, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

Hermione smiled, trying not to make a big deal out of a revelation about his family. "We can do that," she agreed.

Draco opened the fridge to pull out the ingredients, surprised to see that it was much more full than earlier in the day.

"I think our fridge is like the great hall," he said frowning, "most of this stuff wasn't here earlier."

She leaned over his shoulder to look. "I certainly didn't fill it up," she agreed. As he turned to put ingredients on the worktop, she noticed just how close she'd been standing and backed away hurriedly, searching the cupboards for equipment.

Unsure whether to be offended or amused, Draco said neutrally, "I don't bite," and left it at that as she blushed.

In an attempt to cover up the awkwardness, Hermione ignored her embarrassment and got on with explaining to him what they needed to do.

"First things first, we have to cook the potatoes," she began, "so can you put that pan of water on to boil?"

For a moment, she worried he was going to laugh in her face, but he did as asked, and she continued, internally breathing a sigh of relief.

"While they're boiling, we need to start making the filling. So, first we need to brown the mince."

Without a word, Draco sliced the packet open, and slid the lamb mince into the frying pan. As he stirred, she finely chopped an onion and the carrots, and stood watching him. Once the mince was brown, she stepped up to the hob next to him, and leaned across to add the vegetables.

Gently sliding the vegetables from the chopping board into the pan, she didn't notice her hair was falling forward until it was almost too late – with one hand on the vegetables and the other holding the chopping board, there was very little she could do about it anyway. Gravely, Draco slipped the offending bit of hair behind her ear, then took a step backwards, away from her.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"I just didn't want your hair in my dinner," he said quickly.

Ignoring that, Hermione went back to consulting her cookbook. "Time to add the tomato puree, and the Worcestershire sauce...and the red wine as well I suppose?"

He shrugged, "I guess so, I never really pay attention, but it obviously has to go in before the filling goes into the pie."

"We'll put it in now then, and hope that's right," she said decisively, passing a tablespoon to Draco to deal with the Worcestershire sauce. Adding the tomato puree, she went to make the stock up, whilst he stirred everything. Still stirring the stock as she moved back towards him, Hermione began talking without looking up, "Do you want to add –oh!"

She'd been about to ask him to add the wine, only to find that he'd not only already done it but poured two glasses as well.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "It's okay, Granger, if you can't handle a glass of wine on a school night, I'll drink yours."

Rolling her eyes, she picked up the glass and tried a sip. "I can 'handle' a glass of wine fine, thank you Malfoy."

Resisting the urge to laugh, he simply said "Of course, what's next?"

"Erm...we add the stock and let it simmer while we make the mash."

"I take it I just pour this in?" He looked at her dubiously.

She nodded as she drained the potatoes, "and stir it!"

Having done that, he looked at her suspiciously. "And just how exactly do we 'make mash'?"

She giggled, "We use this thing, called a...masher? ... to crush the potatoes until they're smooth and fluffy, and add a little milk and butter. Then we add a tiny bit of salt and pepper."

"A masher?" he scoffed, "That's such a made up word."

"Whatever," she responded, echoing him perfectly as she handed him it, "off you go."

Resisting the urge to squawk in panic, Draco took the masher and began half-heartedly to push down on the potatoes.

"You have to put some effort into it," she giggled, "like this," she continued demonstrating.

He looked at her bemusedly for a moment before taking the masher and copying her movements. "This isn't so hard," he mused, "but having a house elf do it would be easier," he sniggered, waiting for the inevitable fall out.

"Malfoy! Don't be so lazy! Muggles do it by hand every single day, they don't have house elves. Besides, you can't just use house elves for everything you find demeaning, they aren't slaves - or they shouldn't be at least."

He resisted the urge to point out that actually, house elves _were _slaves, and seemed quite content with that, and settled for saying sullenly , "But I'm not a muggle!"

She laughed, "Good job! You'd be hopeless, I doubt you could last a day without magic."

Eyes narrowing, he snapped back, "Want to bet?"

She hesitated for a moment, unsure if he was serious. Surely he couldn't be, they both knew Malfoy would rather eat slugs than voluntarily reduce himself to the level of a muggle. Slowly adding the milk and butter to the mash in order to give herself thinking time she asked, "What stakes?"

He frowned, trying to think of something good, "How about….If I win, we get to do the traditional welcome party warm up/warm down in here on Friday?"

Hermione blanched, picturing dozens of people trashing their house, couples having sex everywhere, and finding strange substances all over the house the next day.

"Your stakes are too high," she argued, "if I win, you have to take care of all the prefect duties for a week, and be nice to me. No insults, but also being friendly, not just coldly polite."

"And my stakes are too high?" he scoffed. "How about, if I win, we do the pre- and post- party here, **but **we'll compromise on who we invite, and make a rule of no sex/fooling around."

Trying to find a catch, she thought about it before finally agreeing. "Okay, but I'm going to win."

"We'll see. What about classes though? I'll have to do magic then."

"Nuh uh," she countered, "you should have thought of that before you agreed. Time starts now, you are officially a muggle until," she checked her watch, "22:01."

Instantly thinking of a hundred things he would normally use his wand for, Draco growled, "What's next for the recipe?"

"Next, we just put the filling into a casserole dish, before scooping the mash on top," she answered putting a dish in front of him.

Pouring the filling into it, she gestured for him to add the mash to the top. "Just add it a little bit at a time, we'll smooth it over in a second."

Once he'd finished, she showed him how to fork the mash, and he dubiously copied her movements until she was satisfied it looked done. "Now what?" he asked.

"Now, we wait," she said, sliding it into the oven, "It needs about twenty minutes."

"About?" he asked, "how can it need 'about' twenty minutes. Surely it needs that exactly."

She shook her head, "Cooking is like….a relaxed sort of potion making." Hesitating slightly she continued, "A lot of it is personal preference, or gut instinct - like your mum adding red wine. So we'll leave it in the oven for about twenty minutes, or until it looks done enough for us. Some people like to wait until it's fully crisped over on top, others want it barely warmed through."

"Seems a bit weird to me," he muttered dubiously, "how can people know they're doing it right if the recipes aren't exact anyway?"

She laughed, "Sometimes you don't, sometimes you try things and it's great, and other times it comes out looking nothing like it should. It's just like Snape's slightly unconventional potion additions; he takes risks, and they usually pay off." 

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Just in case any of you are curious, I was running off this recipe.**

BBC shepherd's pie recipe

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 medium carrots , chopped

500g pack minced lamb

2 tbsp tomato purée

large splash Worcestershire sauce

500ml beef stock

900g potatoes, cut into chunks

85g butter

3 tbsp milk

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then soften the onion and carrots for a few mins. When soft, turn up the heat, crumble in the lamb and brown, tipping off any excess fat. Add the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, then fry for a few mins. Pour over the stock, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 40 mins, uncovering halfway.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C/ fan 160C/ gas 4, then make the mash. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10-15 mins until tender. Drain, then mash with the butter and milk.

3. Put the mince into an ovenproof dish, top with the mash and ruffle with a fork. The pie can now be chilled and frozen for up to a month. Bake for 20-25 mins until the top is starting to colour and the mince is bubbling through at the edges. (To bake from frozen, cook at 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 for 1 hr-1 hr 20 mins until piping hot in the centre. Flash under the grill to brown, if you like.) Leave to stand for 5 mins before serving.


	5. Anger

As they waited for the pie to cook, Hermione grabbed her folder and brought it into the kitchen, deciding to take advantage of the time to look through the list of achievements again. "Malfoy?" she asked after a while.

He didn't look up from the recipe book he'd been flicking through, merely made a noise to show he was listening.

"I was thinking, we could do some more planning maybe."

He looked at her for a moment, "I don't think we should plan **everything **you know, I think some of it should be spontaneous."

"Because the exercise and cooking tonight weren't spontaneous enough for you?" she said waspishly.

"True enough," he nodded, conceding her point.

Shaking her head she went back to the list, "I was thinking, a lot of these could be combined, like having a movie night. We could pick some of the films off the list, and kill two birds with one stone."

He looked at her somewhat blankly, "Two birds, one stone? That's a ridiculous saying, who came up with that?" Shaking off the statement, he continued, "Whatever, sounds fine."

"And maybe..." she trailed off nervously, "we could tackle some of the easier ones now? Things like starting the books, or answering some of the easier 'getting to know each other' questions."

He walked off, and Hermione figured she'd obviously pushed things too far, trying to act like they liked each other so she sighed, slammed the folder shut and went to check the pie. She was bent over, peering through the oven door when she heard a slam, and was surprised to see Malfoy was back, with both his folder and a copy each of the three books.

"I take it you've read all these?" he asked her, "Which is your favourite?"

Surprised to be asked her opinion, Hermione was flustered for a moment, looking over the book choices. "The Hobbit," she said finally, "it's about..."

"I'll read that then," he interrupted her.

"That's it? You're just going to read whichever I say?" she asked, baffled.

He sighed, "Granger, given that you practically live in the library, I know enough about your reading tastes to realise we do actually have similar taste in books."

"You noticed what I read?"

"Like I said, you live in the library, and you've always got your head in a book."

Unsure whether that was meant to be an insult, or if she was just being overly sensitive, Hermione ignored that comment. "I was thinking, we could maybe tackle the first twenty-five of the fifty questions quiz while we ate?"

He shrugged, opening his folder to 'The Fifty Questions Quiz' whilst she served up the pie.

After putting the plate in front of him, she stared at him a moment before muttering "You're welcome," very sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes but didn't apologise, instead racing through the first few questions, "My birthday is on June 5th, I'm 6 foot 1, I wear a size 11, I have grey eyes-"

"Stop, stop, stop!" she said furiously. He stared at her blankly, so she sighed in exasperation and explained. "First of all, I think we're supposed to **discuss** the answers. Second of all, I can't write that fast!"

He looked down bemused to note that she really had been writing down his answers. "I doubt there will be a test on what size shoe I wear, Granger."

She sniffed, "You never know. Now start again, slowly."

He sighed, and began reading out both the questions and his answers. "Birthday: June 5th -"  
>"September 19th," she interrupted.<br>"What? No, my birthday is definitely in June," he insisted.  
>She laughed, "No, <strong>my <strong>birthday is September 19th."

"Oh. So, basically next week?" he asked. She nodded.

Unsure what to say to that, he decided to just move on with the questions. "Height: 6 foot 1," he paused, expecting her answer this time.  
>"5 foot 4."<br>"Shoe size: 11," "5".

Watching her write things down, Draco began to wonder if maybe he should be doing the same - McGonagall was just crazy enough to implement testing on housemate trivia - particularly, he thought grimly, if Dumbledore had suggested it.

He sighed, and was about to summon his bag before he remembered the bet. Sighing, he stood up, smirking when he noticed Granger's disappointed face.

"Dream on, Granger, I'm not going to lose." He insisted grabbing a quill and filling in the answers they'd already been through.

"Eye colour: Grey," he continued. "Brown," she replied. "Yours aren't exactly grey though," she continued. "More kinda...silver."

He stared at her for a moment and she blushed, "Grey just sounds more depressing," she argued.

"Hair colour: blonde," Draco continued, still looking baffled. "Brown," Hermione responded meekly.

"Favourite colour: Silver," "Blue."

"Not red?" he sniggered. She sniffed, "Yours isn't green, why should mine be red?"

"Silver is at least a Slytherin colour, blue is a Ravenclaw colour!"

She shrugged, "It's always been blue, ever since I was little."

"Season: Winter," he continued. "Winter," she agreed, "I love Christmas."

"Girls name: Charlotte," "Keira. I'm surprised yours isn't a constellation."

He rolled his eyes, "Some of them are nice, but they're old fashioned and stuck up."

Gaping at him, she wasn't sure what to say to **Malfoy **calling someone stuck up, so she just moved on, "Boys name: Liam,"  
>"Matthew."<p>

"Favourite car," she continued. "I don't really have one," she frowned, "I can't drive, and I think they kinda all look the same."

He looked at her as if she'd grown a second head, "I can't drive either Granger, most wizards don't bother given that we can apparate, but they do **not **all look the same. I have to admit, muggles make some sexy looking cars."

"What's your favourite then?" she asked, thinking to put him on the spot. He may admire their looks, but she doubted he'd ever actually looked into them - they are a muggle invention after all.

"Lamborghini Murcielago," he answered calmly. While she stared at him, he smirked and continued, "Favourite food, shepherd's pie, you know that one already."

"My favourite is Lasagne," she said, jotting his answers down.

"Favourite dessert?" he asked.  
>"Chocolate fudge cake," she answered, "you?"<br>"Chocolate cheesecake. I love anything sweet," he continued.

Inexplicably, Hermione felt her face heat slightly in response to his answer. _What the hell? _Shaking it off, she read the next question out. "Favourite holiday: Egypt."  
>"Thailand."<br>She stared at him, obviously unable to imagine the pale blonde somewhere hot. "I went with my parents," he began, in answer to her unspoken question, "the Far East have some amazing potion ingredients, and some of their magic is totally different to ours."

"Favourite shop?" she continued, "mine's paperchase."

"What the hell is paperchase?"  
>"It's a stationery shop," she answered, slightly embarrassed, "I like notebooks and stuff."<p>

He stared at her before saying, "You should look in the new shop in Hogsmeade. Scribe, I think it's called."

"Thanks," she responded surprised. About to move onto the question, she realised she hadn't finished with that one. "What's your favourite shop?"

He glared at her a moment, "You tell no one this."

Swallowing slightly, expecting a horrifying answer, like Borgin and Burkes, she nodded.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

She laughed, "What's wrong with that?"

"It's still owned by a Weasley," he complained, "even if it is a good shop."

Laughing, she moved on. "Favourite alcoholic drink?"

"Jack Daniels or firewhiskey, I like both."

"Mine's amaretto," she said, "it's like alcoholic Dr. Pepper."

"You know I have no idea what Dr. Pepper is right?"

She shook her head, "That's so wrong, a life without Dr. Pepper."

Still staring at her, Draco read out the next question, "Favourite smell?"

"Mint," she blushed, "You?"  
>"I don't think I have one. Anything really fruity."<p>

Beginning to wash up, Hermione called out the next question, "Favourite body part?"  
>He sniggered. "Not that one!" she insisted, "something else!"<p>

Still sniggering, he said "my abs," disappointedly.

Turning back to the sink, refusing to look at him, Hermione said quietly, "My legs."

Waiting for the insult, Hermione continued to wash up; not noticing that he'd looked at her legs and declined to comment.

"Favourite band?" he asked. "Mine's Linkin Park."

"But they're a muggle band!" she argued.

He snickered, "No they're not."

"Huh," trying to absorb that fact, Hermione answered, "mine's Evanescence."

"Favourite animal: wolf," Draco continued.  
>"I don't know," she frowned, "I quite like otters though. Maybe because my patronus is one. Or elephants. Or pandas or..."<p>

"I get it Granger, you're an animal lover. Moving on, favourite theme park? ... What's a theme park?"

"Erm, it has roller coasters in?" she tried, sighing when he still looked blank. "It's hard to explain, but they have like...moving trains, that do loops and things, and go fast and really high, and it's an adrenaline rush. You kinda have to see it to believe it," she finished lamely.

"Uh huh...well obviously I don't have one, what's yours?"  
>"Thorpe park. I know the ones in America are supposed to be amazing, but I've never had a chance to go," she smiled sadly.<p>

"Favourite teacher?" he called loudly, over the sounds of her stacking the dishes in the cupboard.  
>"Hmm," she mused, "probably McGonagall."<p>

"Snape," he said curtly, not elaborating.

"Favourite sport?" she asked.  
>"Quidditch, of course," he responded, "Yours?"<br>"Swimming."

"Favourite subject?"  
>He hesitated for just a second before saying, "either potions or charms."<br>She wrote in his answer before answering, "Transfiguration or charms, I think. I used to love arithmancy, but charms has more practical application."

"Foods you hate?" she continued.

"Prawns and pineapple."  
>"Eggs," she said firmly, "and I don't like prawns either."<p>

"Last one," she said, causing Draco to sigh in relief. "Phobia?"  
>Looking slightly nauseous, Draco muttered "Werewolves."<br>"Wasps," Hermione answered, "and failing."

He rolled his eyes, "Should have expected that one."

Hermione was saved from having to answer that by an owl pecking at the window.

Opening the window, Hermione was baffled to find pig, who flew in and bobbed around on the table before she managed to catch him and read the letter. '_Hermione, where __**are **__you? Are you okay? Meet us at the lake, Harry and Ron'._

"Well, what's it say, Granger?" Malfoy asked impatiently.

"The boys want me to meet them at the lake," she told him, throwing a jacket on.

* * *

><p>"I just don't know why she'd have missed dinner." Ron repeated for about the tenth time, pacing anxiously in front of the lake. "Why isn't she here yet?"<p>

"Maybe their house is just farther from the lake than yours, Ron. I'm sure she's fine, she's perfectly capable of protecting herself, and I don't think Malfoy would be so stupid as to try anything funny anyways."

"Try something funny? You don't think he...No, he can't touch her. And you don't really think he could have a thing for her do you?"

"No, Ron, I didn't mean... Oh never mind, I'm sure she'll explain everything when she gets here."

Still looking unconvinced, Ron resumed his frenzied pacing, coming to an abrupt halt when Hermione walked out of the forest...followed by Malfoy.

"What's he doing here?" Ron asked rudely.

"I talked him into coming, since I assumed you two would want to come in and you need his permission too."

Choosing to ignore that, Ron turned his back on Malfoy and stared at Hermione. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Of course not, Ron, why would you think that?" She asked defensively.

"You didn't show up for dinner." Ron said like that explained everything.

"So you panicked and assumed I was hurt?" she rolled her eyes, "we were...cooking. We decided to try and make a start with the project."

"Oh." Ron said, slightly deflated by her calm demeanour. "We just thought-"  
>"I know what you thought Ron, but he hasn't done anything, and if he had I could defend myself anyway thank you very much!"<br>"But he's a death eater!" Ron said adamantly.

"Former." Malfoy interjected acidly.  
>"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots," Ron muttered.<p>

"And trolls will never be smart," Draco muttered back. Thankfully, Ron didn't understand the insult.

"Whatever. Hermione, show us your house!"  
>She hesitated, "Is that okay?" she asked Draco timidly.<br>"Whatever, just stay out of my room," he said angrily, and stormed back to the house alone.

Hermione had almost finished showing the boys around the house when things went rapidly down-hill.

Walking into the kitchen, she spotted their two wine glasses left out - hers, she noted embarrassed, mostly empty - and groaned internally. Draco smirking from the other side of the table really wouldn't help either, she knew.

Right on cue, Ron spotted the wine glasses and said acidly, "Cooking eh? **Working? **Sure looks like it."

"We were, Ron! We were just doing the work-"  
>"So the project says you have to have a cosy romantic dinner together does it? Share a bottle of wine and-"<br>"We made shepherd's pie, Ron, and since the recipe called for wine, we thought we might as well have a glass each of what was left over with dinner."

"Don't talk to me like I'm thick, Hermione. It's **obvious **what's been going on here."  
>"Oh?" Hermione said quietly, "Do enlighten me, Ronald," she continued in a dangerous tone of voice.<p>

Harry steeled himself and stepped in between them knowing things were going to get ugly. "Don't worry, Hermione, Ron's just upset because we were worried about you, and it's been a tense evening. He knows nothing would ever have happened."

"Stay out of this, Harry," she snapped, "first of all, you're right, nothing did happen. But secondly, if it had, then frankly it would be **my **business, and you of all people Ron, have **no right **to interfere!" she said, getting more and more worked up.

"Why?" he argued, "because we're not together anymore? Well, we would be if you hadn't been so frigid!"

Without even thinking, Hermione had slapped him, as hard as she could around the face, and Draco smirked at the crack that reverberated throughout the kitchen.

"Nothing could have made me stay after what you did," she said quietly, storming from the room.

Sniggering, Draco poured himself another glass of wine, "You deserved that."

Grabbing Ron's arm as the red-head tried to launch himself at Draco, Harry tried to reason with him. "He's not worth it, Ron. Go home."

"What do you mean go home, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to try and talk to Hermione." Harry said, glaring.

Ron glared back, refusing to back down. "Why? She was the one who was cosy-ing up to Malfoy!"

Harry sighed, "No she wasn't. And she's right, if she was, it wouldn't be any of our business!"

"You don't really believe that," Ron countered, "If she was dating Malfoy you'd go mad!"

"Okay fine," Harry admitted, "You're probably right, but she isn't dating Malfoy, and she never would, so what does it matter?"

Ron sighed, "Maybe you're right. I should probably go apologise," he said, shuffling his feet.

Draco smirked at them, "I wouldn't - she'll probably be throwing things right now. Girls do that a lot when they're angry."

"Or she'll send birds after you again," Harry agreed.

Ron blanched, "Maybe I'll just come back once she's had a chance to calm down."


	6. Ron

**[6.] Ron**

Pacing her room angrily, Hermione threw yet another conjured plate at the wall. Focusing on her anger was easier than being upset - she refused to cry over him again, and being angry felt more productive anyway.

When someone knocked on the door, she resisted temptation to throw a plate at it, and got up to go and see who it was. Opening the door, she blushed slightly as Harry looked at the smashed crockery littering the floor.

"What?" she asked challengingly. "If you've come to apologise for him you might as well leave, he's **not **forgiven and-"

"Hermione." Harry interrupted firmly, "I didn't come to apologise for him. I sent him home. I just came to see if you were okay."

"What do you think, Harry? Of course I'm bloody not!"

He went to step in for a hug but she stepped back.

"Don't," she said shakily, "I'll just fall apart and I don't want to so just - don't be so nice okay?"

He laughed a little, "Girls are so weird."

"Yes," she agreed, "I suppose we are. But I'm concentrating on being angry right now, so go away."

Shaking his head, Harry stood up. "If you change your mind, just owl me okay? Pig can stay here with you just in case."

She nodded, and waited just long enough for him to leave before she threw herself on the bed sobbing. 

* * *

><p>Draco sat in his room, trying to ignore the all too clear sound of Hermione Granger crying her eyes out. Over Ron Weasley no less. Although Draco had to admit, the weasel had been out of order.<p>

Frowning, he sat back against his headboard, thinking about what he knew of how they'd broken up.

In the few weeks at school after the final battle, Granger and Weasley had been all over each other, sickeningly loved up. He knew that Granger had been fine with Weasley visiting the hospital wing to visit Lavender (something he knew many of the slytherin girls would have objected to), and he also knew that at some point she'd caught the two of them together. There had to be more to it than that though, for one thing where did the frigid comment come from?

Distracted by a particularly loud bout of crying, Draco sighed and left his room. Knocking on her door, he awkwardly called her. "Granger?"

The crying stopped for a moment, and she sniffed, "What?"

"I can't cast a silencing charm because of the bet," he pointed out irritated, "and your room is right next to mine."

"Oh I'm sorry if my crying is an inconvenience to you, Malfoy!" she snapped.

He smiled grimly, anger was better than tears.

"Yes it is. I dunno why you even care if that idiot thinks you're frigid anyway," he replied, pushing her harder to get a response.

There was silence, and then she yanked the door open. "I don't care if he thinks that, Malfoy. He's wrong. What I do care about, is the fact that I worked damn hard to forget about it all summer, and it's not fair for him to bring it back up in front of people, especially when it should look worse on him than me!"

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

Hermione realised her anger had let her carried away, and tried to delicately let the subject drop.

"It doesn't matter, Malfoy."

"Given the fact you're crying over it, it clearly does." He rolled his eyes. "For such a 'smart' witch, you can be dense."

She stared at him.

"What?" he said uncomfortably.

"You never call me a witch."

"What? I must do."  
>"Rarely. Usually you call me," she hesitated, "a mudblood."<br>He sighed, "I haven't called you that for ages. Now, stop changing the subject and tell me the story."

"Why?" she said suspiciously, "so you can use it against me?"  
>He sighed, "No, because it'll make you feel better, and then you can stop crying, and then I can sleep."<p>

"I could just cast a silencing charm," she argued stubbornly.  
>"First of all, I think you're too upset to be able to," he smirked slightly at the idea of her not being able to perform magic, "and second, it won't fix anything so you'll still be upset and crying over him whenever he pisses you off - which is all the time - and eventually you'll forget to cast the stupid charm and we'll be stuck in exactly the same situation all over again."<p>

She stared at him. "You're probably right," she sighed. "But...I can't tell you."  
>He sighed, "I thought we just agreed you had to?"<p>

She stared at him a moment and he left.

Baffled, she just sat there, surprised when he came back with their refilled wine glasses and turned the light off.

"Drink it," he said, forcing the glass into her hand, "dutch courage and all that. And now the light is off you can't see me."

She stared at him, or at least, the shadow that she thought was him. That was so thoughtful; neither Harry nor Ron would have thought of it she was sure.

"Stop staring at me Granger. Pansy's my best friend, and she has mood swings all the time. You come up with ways of dealing with them if you don't want your life to be miserable."

She took a big gulp of the wine, a deep breath and began to talk. "After I caught Ron cheating with Lavender, I was miserable. There was a big party in the Gryffindor common room before we all went home for summer, and I wasn't really in the mood, so I was in an empty classroom down the hall with a book. Ron stumbled in, very drunk, and we got into a fight. Long story short, he said he'd been 'fooling around' with Lavender because I... "wouldn't put out". He implied it meant I didn't really like him or something, and when I argued that that wasn't the reason he...told me to prove I liked him. He got a bit...insistent."

Draco grimaced, and said awkwardly, "but he didn't..." he cleared his throat, "you pushed him off?"

She sniffed, "He forgot I had a wand. But if I hadn't..."

Unsure what to say, Draco hesitated. "He was going to apologise. I told him to leave."

She sighed, "I know he was really drunk, and I know he regretted it afterwards, and I thought things were slowly going back to normal. But I can't deal with it if he's going to keep bringing it up, implying I was the bitch here."

Momentarily amazed at the sound of Granger swearing, Draco continued, "I guess you don't want him here on Friday night then?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"For the pre/post welcome party drinks."

"We're not doing pre/post welcome party drinks," she countered.

"Of course we are, Granger. I'm going to win the bet."  
>"Even if you did," she said slowly, "why would you invite Ron?"<br>He let out a long-suffering sigh. "Firstly, I agreed we'd compromise on people, I therefore assumed you'd want some of your friends. Secondly, inviting a mix of our friends means a better boy/girl mix," he leered, "and thirdly, of course I want the opportunity to humiliate them with drinking games."

She laughed, "How do you know they won't humiliate you?"

Shaking his head, Draco turned the light back on and laughed. "Yeah, right," he said simply as he left.

"Malfoy?" Hermione called nervously. He hesitated just outside her door.  
>"Thanks," she said softly.<p>

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes, "I just got bored of listening to your crying." 

* * *

><p>Thursday morning Hermione and the boys sat awkwardly in the Great Hall eating breakfast, trying to pretend the tense silence. Finally Ron said, "Listen, Hermione-"<p>

She looked at him expectantly. "Yes?"

He sighed, "Can we go outside?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, she grabbed a piece of toast and her bag, standing up to follow him out.

They headed out into the grounds, walking in silence for a few moments before he stopped suddenly. "I screwed up," he said guiltily, "I was really out of order to you last night, and I shouldn't have said the things I did."

"No," she agreed firmly, "you shouldn't."  
>"I just...wasn't thinking straight," he said finally, "I couldn't stand the idea of him touching you." He hurried on when she opened her mouth to object. "I know nothing happened, and I know I shouldn't care if it did but I just lost my temper."<p>

She sighed. "I know. I'm not really mad that you jumped to the conclusion you did, I can see how you might have thought it - but I am mad about the things you said."

"I know," he said sadly. "The things I said -and did- at the end of last year, should never have happened, and I shouldn't have thrown it in your face like that."

She smiled sadly, "We can't move past it if you keep bringing it up."  
>"I know," he agreed, "I just...thought about you..." he flushed guiltily, "putting out for him, and not me, and got so mad, I just wanted to say something to upset you back."<p>

"Oh, Ron," she said sadly, "it was never **you, **I just...wasn't ready. I wasn't...'putting out' for Malfoy, as you so tactfully put it, but if I was it would be none of your business. A lot has changed since last year and if I **was** ready now, - with someone else - you couldn't just try and hurt me for it."

He nodded. "But just so we're clear," he said firmly, "I still hate Malfoy."

She rolled her eyes and they headed back to the Great Hall to meet Harry and head to Charms. 

* * *

><p>Sat in charms, only half paying attention, Malfoy could not have been more surprised when Hermione wrote him a note. "Recipe 2 tonight?'<br>He shrugged.  
>After a moment he added, 'What time?'<br>She thought about it briefly and was about to add a reply when Flitwick said, "Mr Malfoy, are you paying attention? Perhaps you could demonstrate the charm for us."

Draco stared at the parchment in front of him for a moment, totally baffled and then noticed Granger had scrawled 'Disillusionment' across their note. Praying she wasn't winding him up, he cast a disillusionment charm, pleased when Flitwick said only "Very good, Mr Malfoy" and walked away.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked down at the note to find she'd written '7pm, after Hogsmeade'.

He nodded, and she slipped the note into her bag, concentrating on the lesson as though they'd never been friendly at all. 

* * *

><p>Hermione was surprised to be greeted by none other than Remus Lupin when she walked into the Defence against the dark arts classroom.<p>

He smiled at her and gestured for her to take a seat.

Once the whole class had filed in, Remus began to explain. "Given that Voldemort is gone, many of you may wonder why Defence Against the Dark arts is still being taught."

There were a few nods as people agreed. "However," Remus continued, "Defence was taught long before Voldemort, and so will be taught long after. Defence should teach you, after all, not just about duelling, but also about dangerous creatures, beings objects, and curses. There may be occasions when knowing these things can save your life - even without Voldemort to worry about."

There was a grim silence as everyone waited for him to continue.  
>"I will be teaching you about creatures and beings until the October Half term. From then until Christmas, you will have another teacher - I'm not sure yet, so don't ask! - who will cover dangerous objects. After Christmas until mid April, you will have a number of different teachers, who will cover defensive spells, as well as some lessons taught by Professor Snape to teach you about defensive potions."<p>

He smiled as the class looked dismayed, "Don't underestimate the difference a potion can make in terms of defence," he told them, smiling. "It can be the difference between winning and losing."

As Hermione wrote down everything Lupin had said, and everyone else watched curiously, he uncovered a large tank on his desk.

"Now," he asked, "who can remember what I taught you about Grindylows?" 

* * *

><p>Walking through Hogsmeade that evening, Hermione spotted the stationery shop Draco had mentioned down a small alley. "Ginny, can we go in here?" she asked.<p>

"Only if you agree to let me do your make up tomorrow night!" Ginny countered.  
>Hermione laughed, "Sure, Gin."<p>

Walking into _Scribe, _Hermione was instantly fascinated. Notebooks of every size and colour conceivable covered the shelves, and a huge table in the middle was dominated by pens. Dotted around the room, on the shelves and table, were random beautiful items, ranging from tiny perfume bottles to huge coloured crystal balls.

Ginny took one look around and sighed, Hermione would probably be a while. Browsing the shelves randomly, Ginny picked up a gorgeous pink notebook, covered in a soft fabric. After a quick glance at the price, she popped it back on the shelf and went back to browsing, careful not to knock anything from the shelves.

Hermione finally settled on a bottle of colour changing ink, and a filofax, and Ginny hurriedly pulled her from the shop once she'd paid.

"Come on Hermione, or we won't make it to pay for your dress before the shop closes!"  
>Hurrying down the street, they rushed into the dress shop.<p>

The same shop assistant from before was behind the counter, and she smiled as the two walked in. "Good evening girls, do I take it you do want the dress after all?" she laughed.

Hermione nodded, "I do."

"And I assume this is for the masquerade party tomorrow night?"  
>The girls nodded, so she asked, "and do you have masks yet?"<p>

Hermione groaned internally, how could she have forgotten a mask? Ginny nodded, "I've sorted mine."  
>"I forgot," Hermione admitted, feeling stupid. The woman smiled, "I found one upstairs that I think might work for you." She bent and pulled a mask out from a shelf behind the desk, holding it out for Hermione to see.<p>

The mask was simple, just a smooth shape to cover the eyes, in the same shade as her dress, with gold and green detailing. Hermione smiled, it would be perfect.

The woman nodded at Hermione's obvious approval and said nicely, "I'll throw it in with the cost of the dress. It's too perfect for you to pass up on, and I'd forgotten about it anyway."

"Thank you so much," Hermione said, smiling, "That's very kind of you."

The woman winked. "I always like to make my customers happy - it keeps them coming back!"

Laughing as Hermione paid, the two girls reassured her they would definitely be back. 

* * *

><p>Shortly before seven, Draco found himself browsing through the recipe books again. He'd never admit it, but he'd quite enjoyed cooking yesterday. Granger was right, it <strong>was <strong>like potions but less strict. He was also quite proud of himself for making something that tasted very good, even if he did have some help.

Hearing her come rushing down the stairs, he shut the book in front of him and looked up.

"Looking forward to your house getting destroyed at drinking games, Granger?" he smirked.  
>She rolled her eyes, "You still have more than three hours of being a muggle before you win, Malfoy."<br>He just shook his head, "What are we making anyway?"

She frowned, "Do you want to stick to the 'traditional food' theme?"

"We probably should," he mused, "that way we'll only have one more recipe before we've ticked off an achievement. And it'll be easier to keep track of what we've done."

She nodded, "We could do a roast dinner, a pie, fish and chips, toad in the hole or a casserole. That's basically all my ideas. Except traditional breakfast," she laughed.

"I think we should avoid the traditional breakfast - we'll want one on Saturday morning to soak up the alcohol."  
>"You're very confident," she said coolly, "you could still lose."<p>

"Even if we do," he said, "there'll probably be drinking at Blaise or someone else's so I'll just go there."

"We could do something simple," she said, going back to the problem of finding a recipe, "Like sausage and mash?"

He frowned, "Mash again?"

"Fish and chips," she laughed decisively, "easy enough to cook, without involving any mash."

He nodded and began looking for a recipe in the book he'd been flicking through earlier.

"Maybe you should take charge this time," Hermione said timidly, "I mean the whole point is you're supposed to learn to cook right?"

He frowned, "I'm never going to use this after this year, Granger." When she continued to stare at him he sighed. "Fine, we need potatoes, milk, pepper, flour and some fish."

She smiled once her back was turned. Maybe he'd never use it again, but he'd still conceded this battle and agreed to take charge, which made her feel like they were making progress.

"We need to peel the potatoes, and slice them into chips." He said authoritatively, waiting for her to do just that.

She gaped at him, "And what will you be doing while I do that?" she asked, outraged that he seemed to expect her to do all the work.

"Sitting on my ass of course, watching a woman do all the work - that's the Malfoy way." He snickered as she began to turn purple, "Granger, I'm winding you up, I'll make the batter."

She stared at him, so he began to pull the batter ingredients together, all the while trying not to laugh at her furious expression.

Eventually he just couldn't help it, he began to laugh, quietly while she glared at the potatoes she was peeling. As she turned more and more red, he laughed harder, until eventually she snapped, and threw the potato at him. His seeker reflexes meant he caught it easily however, and he began to stalk towards her looking menacing. Panicking, she grabbed the flour he'd been about to use and threw it at him. Unfortunately, he'd already opened the packet and flour went everywhere. The two of them were covered, and it was her turn to laugh at his irate expression. Without a word, he picked up the mostly empty packet and upended it over her head, stalking off to shower and change as she spluttered. 

* * *

><p>BBC recipe: Fish and chips<p>

Ingredients

250g/9oz plain flour

500ml/17½fl oz milk or water

salt and freshly ground black pepper

900g/2lb potatoes

Sunflower oil, for deep-frying

4 x 150g/5oz flat fish fillets, such as plaice or lemon sole

Sift the flour into a large bowl and gradually whisk in the milk or water to give a smooth, thin batter with the consistency of single cream (you may not need all of the liquid). Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. (This batter can be made up to eight hours in advance and kept in the fridge until needed.)

Peel the potatoes, if preferred, then cut into square-sided chips each about 2cm/1in thick. Wash and dry the chips well and set aside.

Heat the sunflower oil in a deep-fat fryer to 140C/275F. Alternatively, pour the oil into a deep, heavy-based pan to a depth of 2cm/1in and bring to the same temperature on the hob, checking with a sugar thermometer. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

Add the chips to the oil, a few handfuls at a time, and cook for 8-10 minutes or until soft but not browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain well and set aside. At this point the chips can be cooled and placed in the fridge for up to 24 hours until needed.

Increase the temperature of the oil in the deep-fat fryer or pan to 180C/350F. Remove the basket from the fryer, if using. Dip a fish fillet in the batter to coat evenly, then carefully lower into the hot oil. Deep-fry for 3-4 minutes, or until crisp, golden-brown and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking. Remove and drain well on kitchen paper, then keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining fish in the same way.

To finish the chips, deep-fry them in batches again in the oil at 180C/350F for 6-8 minutes, until crisp and golden-brown. Drain on kitchen paper and season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To serve, place the crisp battered fish on warm plates and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the chips, vinegar and a small bowl of tartare sauce for sharing.


	7. I'll Never Tell

**[7.] I'll never tell**

A/N: You may have noticed some slight OOC-ness so far, and I should warn you it's about to get a bit worse! It is plot relevant though, and remember these kids have all done some growing up in the last year or so. 

* * *

><p>Emerging from the bathroom ready to wage war on the bushy haired witch, Draco stopped in surprise. Granger had finished the cooking alone, and set two steaming plates of fish and chips on the table.<p>

Sighing, seemingly resigned to the fact he couldn't exactly kill her if she'd just cooked him dinner, Draco sat and began to eat in silence.

After a few moments, Hermione cleared her throat nervously. "I'm sorry," she said, clearly trying not to laugh.

He stared at her for a moment, and she couldn't help it, she began to giggle again. He ignored her, getting up to pour himself a glass of cold water, surreptitiously pocketing the wand she'd left near the oven. She continued to giggle as he walked back, and he smirked behind her back.

"You will be," he murmured quietly, and she abruptly stopped giggling, realising that he obviously had revenge in mind. Before she had time to turn around though, he'd poured the whole glass over her, snickering at her shriek.

"You bastard!" she screamed.  
>"Now, now, Granger, language!"<p>

Muttering curses to herself she began to search her pockets for her wand, intending to dry herself with a spell.

"Looking for this?" he asked, twirling the wand between his fingers.

"Give it back!"

"Now, just why would I do that?" he smirked.

"Because you don't want to piss me off," she got out between clenched teeth, "and it's not like you can use it anyway."

"True," he agreed urbanely, "but it's fun that you can't either anymore."

She got up and began to walk towards him, but he calmly moved away from her.

"Nuh uh, Granger. I'm bigger and faster than you, you'll never win, so don't embarrass yourself."

"Fine," she sighed in mock defeat, "I'll just go and get changed, and do things the old fashioned way. Why don't you take our plates into the living room and pick one of the films; that way we can get an achievement done without me having to talk to you!" she slammed her bedroom door shut.

Still snickering, Draco grabbed the two plates and put them down on the living room table, slouching on the sofa to skim read each of the DVD boxes.

Hermione came into the room, and suddenly pounced on him in an attempt to get her wand back. For a moment they grappled, and then Draco had her pinned, his speed and strength giving him an advantage, as promised.

"That's it," he growled menacingly, "You know what's coming."

She swallowed nervously, shaking her head.

"Exercise," he announced. Feeling secretly relieved, Hermione tried to look suitably terrified.

"We're going swimming," he continued smugly.

"But it's dark," she objected, "and cold - it's 9 o'clock at night."

He grinned, "You should have thought of that. Go get changed," he continued, letting her up at last.

"Can't we eat first?" she said plaintively, hoping with a stomach full of food he might decide he couldn't be bothered to swim.

He rolled his eyes, "We can't have food before we swim, don't you know anything, Granger?"

Choosing to ignore that, she headed to her room. Searching her drawers, the only swimwear she could find was a bright blue, tropical printed bikini she'd bought herself as a treat, to cheer herself up after the incident with Ron. Shrugging, since she didn't have much choice after all, she slipped into the shorts and underwired bikini top. Throwing some jeans and a thick hooded jumper on over the top, she grabbed a thick towel and headed out to face the dreaded exercise. 

* * *

><p>Grinning as Hermione stared nervously at the cold black water, Draco said "You might as well just get it over with," stripping down to his grey swim shorts and sliding in quickly.<p>

She stared at him, "How cold is it?"

He thought about it briefly, "Absolutely freezing," he laughed, swimming a short distance away and then back to warm up.

Slowly, trying to avoid his gaze, Hermione stripped down to her bikini, then sat at the edge of the lake. She dipped her toes in experimentally but took them out very quickly because of the cold.

"I can't," she said, "It's ridiculously cold, we'll get hypothermia, or pneumonia."

He sighed, swimming towards you. "I told you Granger, the only way is to just go for it,"

"And I told you," she began stubbornly, "I can't."

"Then there's nothing else for it," he said, faking irritation and stalking towards her, letting her think he meant they should go home. "I'll just have to help," he announced suddenly, grabbing the hand she'd put down to stand up, and pulling her in.

She shrieked, and when she came up for air, sputtering and furious, he began to swim away. "I'll get you for that," she promised, swimming after him, intending to push him under.

She chased him for a while, but eventually gave up and lazily floated on the surface, staring at the stars.

Continuing to stargaze, she sighed loudly.

"What's wrong now, Granger?" Draco asked, sounding both amused and exasperated.

"I was just thinking," she began, "that your time must be nearly up by now. You're probably going to win the bet after all."

"Well of course," he agreed smugly, "I always knew I'd win."

"Well, I didn't!" she pouted, "I didn't think you'd be able to do it."

"I know," he grinned, "otherwise you'd have picked a longer time than twenty four hours."

She sighed again. "Guess that means we're going to have a house full of your friends," she said sadly.

Rolling his eyes, Draco toyed with the idea of saying yes, and just watching her face. Remembering the flour incident though, he decided not to.

"We agreed on a compromise," he sighed, "I assumed it'd basically be Blaise, Pansy, Theo, Tracey and Daphne from my house, which pretty much means we have to have girl Weasley, the crazy ravenclaw girl, Potter, Weasel and the irish since they're all roommates and your friends." Draco admitted candidly.

"That sounds like a good compromise of people," Hermione said cautiously, amazed at how...civilized he was being about the whole thing.

"And," he continued, sounding bored, "if we do some of the games on the list then we'll have knocked an achievement off the list too. Truth or dare, two truths and a lie and never have I ever isn't it?"

She blushed, "I hate that game."

"Which game?" he asked sounding surprised. Then realisation blossomed, "Never have I ever?"

She nodded sadly.

"Let me guess," he said sarcastically, "the Gryffindor princess has never done any of the things and the boys bully her for it?"

She sighed, "Yes, that's exactly it," she snapped, "and I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

"So, why don't you just do stuff, and then they won't be able to bully you?" he asked as if that were the obvious solution.

"Because I can't just...'do stuff' as you so charmingly put it," she objected, "I never really have the opportunity and for the...relationship stuff, it should be with someone I at least like."

"Why?" he pointed out, "Can you think of anything that would annoy the Weasel more than knowing you'd done something with someone else? He did hurt you first."

"No," she agreed sadly, "I can't. But I still want it to be with someone I'm friends with. Harry's a no-go, Ron's obviously out of the question, and I'm not friendly enough with any of the other guys in my house to even consider kissing them, yet alone actually doing it."

"That's all you want, Granger?" he asked incredulously, "a kiss? That's your version of revenge?"

She blushed, "Well, a kiss would be a start. And just the implication that something could happen would be enough to irritate Ron."

He grinned, "I like the way you think." He hesitated briefly, "maybe you need to look outside your house," he continued.

Suddenly realising how close he was, Hermione didn't know what to say. Her body however had ideas of its own. Standing up, her feet stepping ever so slightly towards him of their own accord, Hermione suddenly felt something cold grab her ankle, and just had time to get a gulp of air before she was dragged under.

Completely baffled, Draco wondered if his half-hearted flirting had been enough to shock the girl into forgetting how to swim. He hadn't really meant any of it, he thought, slightly offended. When she didn't re-emerge, he began to think maybe she was having a genuine problem. Sighing, he took a large lungful of air, and ducked his head under the water, amazed to see a feebly struggling Hermione fighting with a grindylow.

Shaking his head at the bizarreness of the situation, he reached for his wand, only to remember he'd left it in the house so as not to be tempted to screw up the bet. Mentally kicking himself, Draco began to struggle with the creature, wrenching it off her and being bitten for the trouble. Pulling her up to the top, Draco began to berate her, only to realise she was unconscious. Sighing, he dragged her out of the water, and lifted her up to carry her back to the house. Looking down, he realised their clothes were there, but he didn't have enough hands to carry those and her, so she could just come back for them when she was finished passing out. He rolled his eyes; no way was he going back for them after he carried her all the way home because she was stupid enough to get attacked by a grindylow.

As soon as the door slammed behind him, she began to wake. Typical. Shivering, she asked, "What happened?"

"You got attacked by a grindylow," he explained calmly, "I saved you. Then I carried you home. You owe me."

"I see," she said, still looking confused. "But why are you still carrying me?"

He frowned, "I...we've only just walked through the door," he said finally, sounding slightly flustered. Whilst that was true, he also knew he'd have felt...awkward, dumping her on the sofa while she was passed out.

A moment of awkward silence descended, and he hurriedly put her down. The sudden impact with the floor made the still-woozy Gryffindor stumble, and she fell into him, grabbing the nearest thing she could to stay upright. At just about the same second, they both realised she'd grabbed his arms, and that they were both half dressed.

"Thanks," she mumbled, straightening up. "Were we talking about something important before the grindylow got me?" she blushed a little.

He hesitated, and then blurted "the idea that you should look outside your house."

"For -oh!" as she realised what they'd been discussing, she blushed even more, her face going positively scarlet.

Swallowing, she didn't know what to say, but then he broke the silence for her.  
>"Stop thinking, Granger, it's just a kiss,"<p>

"What's just a-"

His lips came down on hers, gently, oh so gently, and she couldn't help but relax a little. For a moment, the kiss stayed romantic and gentle, but Hermione's curiosity eventually got the better of her. Hesitantly, she began to move her lips against his, and suddenly things changed. He licked her bottom lip, slowly and seductively, and she couldn't help but gasp. When she did, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, and suddenly she was kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as his hands slid down to her bare waist.

A few seconds later, she pulled away, gasping. "What are we doing?" she whispered.

"Kissing, getting revenge, giving into temptation, call it whatever you want," he whispered back.

"But...why?"

He sighed, stepping back and running his hand through his hair in frustration, "I've no idea why, Granger, because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Seemed like you were enjoying it too," he smirked.

She blushed before admitting, "I was, but..."

"What's the problem then?" he burst out, sounding irritated, "You wanted revenge, you already ruled out your house, and you said you wanted it to be someone you were friends with. Much as I'm loathe to admit it, we are becoming friends. We're intellectually roughly equal, and I'm hot," he smirked. "Plus," he admitted quietly, "I'll never tell."

She still hesitated, "What exactly do you mean by 'revenge'? I'm not having sex with you!" she burst out, very red again.

He rolled his eyes, "I don't know, or care. Kissing, more, or just other things they'd never expect you to have done - they don't have to be sex based."

"So, you're proposing all this just so I can not be humiliated tomorrow night?" she asked sceptically.

"And because seeing Weasel's face will be fun," he smirked. As she tensed up, he sighed, "and because I liked kissing you, okay? But if you tell anyone I said that Granger..."

"I'll never tell," she said quietly.  
>He grinned and took a step towards her again, but she stepped back. "Maybe we should get dressed first," she suggested nervously.<p>

He looked down at himself and nodded, and she headed past him, up the stairs, using all her willpower not to look back. 

* * *

><p>Stood in her room, Hermione put her hands to her stomach, half expecting to feel the butterflies that were doing somersaults right now. <em>What am I doing? <em>She asked herself, partly horrified. _I'm not a...the whole reason I wouldn't do more with Ron is because I wanted it to be with someone special.  
><em>  
>A tiny voice in the back of her head fought back though, <em>It is special.<em> Although tempted to instantly scoff at that idea, Hermione had to admit, it had felt special when he'd kissed her. She hadn't ever felt that way when Ron kissed her.

Shaking off her thoughts, she stripped out of her bikini, pulling on a fluffy dressing gown while she tried to decide what to wear. She couldn't just pull on any old underwear, what if he saw it? _Which he won't, _she insisted in her head. _But just in case..._

She pulled out a lacy pair of shorts and matching bra in bright blue. That was pretty without being overtly sexy. She stared at her wardrobe in despair for a full two minutes, before deciding comfort was key. She tugged on a pair of black leggings, and a bright red sweater dress. That was conservative and comfortable, but less scruffy than pyjamas or jeans and a t-shirt. Satisfied, she dragged a brush through her hair and eventually decided to pull it up into a bun, out of the way of her face. Finally deciding she couldn't put it off anymore, she nervously headed back downstairs, to find him lounging comfortably on the sofa.

She bit her lip nervously then said firmly, "Just to be clear, Malfoy, I don't want to do anything...bad tonight, I just want to do just enough stuff that the others won't give me a hard time."

"I know, Granger." He rolled his eyes, "you'll have to tell them you had a busy summer or something."

"Right," she agreed nervously, feeling slightly self-conscious at the way his eyes roved over her.

Shaking his head as she just stood there, he smirked. "I don't bite, Granger," he said, patting the sofa beside him. "Not unless you ask nicely anyway," he continued, inwardly laughing as she blushed yet again.

As she came to sit down, she noticed he'd bought his purple folder down, and was flicking through it.

"What are you looking for?" she asked timidly.

He sat back and said simply, "This," handing her a piece of parchment.

The whole page was covered with never have I ever questions, in neat handwriting.

"Who wrote this?" she murmured, skimming the page.

"Pansy wrote it, I just convinced her to leave it with me so it was 'already here' for tomorrow night." He admitted.

The questions ranged from the mostly innocent, like 'Never have I ever missed a class' and 'Never have I ever had jelly shots' to shocking (to Hermione at least) questions like 'Never have I ever had a threesome' and 'Never have I ever had a pregnancy scare'.

She swallowed audibly, "I don't even know where to start."

He grinned, "Come here, Granger."

She looked at him nervously, and inched a tiny bit closer.

He laughed then said softly, "I'm just going to kiss you again."

"Oh," she said, blushing yet again and moving closer to him.

He kissed her, and she slowly relaxed against him, feeling that tension build in her stomach as the kiss got more intense, more passionate. Trailing kisses down her neck, her head was beginning to spin as he whispered, "Where does your dress cover?"

"What?" she asked breathily, "What dress?"

He sniggered and pulled back slightly, "Your dress for tomorrow night, where does it cover?"

"Oh," she said, slowly starting to come back to herself, "It's strapless and floor length. Comes up to here-ish," she blushingly indicated where the dress fell over her bust, "Why?"

He reached over and tapped one of the questions on the list. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "but I haven't decided about what I'm wearing after the ball."

"Figure it out later," he said huskily, returning to kissing her neck once more.

Head spinning again, she gasped as she felt him slowly start to inch the zip at the back of her dress down. "Relax," he whispered, "just trust me,".

Despite the sarcastic protests that formed in her head, Hermione found that she did in fact trust him. It might be foolish, but she felt that he would stop if she asked. And even if he wouldn't, she mused, she still had her wand.

Relaxing, she revelled in the sensations, but tensed up slightly as he began to inch her dress down. She watched him as he pulled it down so that the top edge of her bra was just visible. He trailed his fingers ever so lightly over the skin just above her bra, and then began trailing kisses slowly over her collarbone, down to where his hands were. He pushed himself up, and said softly, "Can I?". She hesitated and then nodded. He kissed her roughly, as his hands moved to firmly cup her over her bra, kneading and pinching in all the right ways. She moaned slightly and he began kissing along the top of her bra. He inched it down ever so slightly and she gasped as she felt a sharp pain. Biting and sucking, he left a bright red mark, half covered when he slid her bra back over it. Sitting next to her, up straight again, he smirked at her flushed face.

"I've never had one before," she admitted breathlessly. "It felt...good," she blushed.  
>He smirked at her, and she bit her lip before saying in a rush, "I've never given one before either."<p>

He stared at her a moment, and then pulled her towards him.  
>"Is that a hint, Granger?"<p>

"Maybe," she said coyly.

He laughed, "You don't have to hide mine," he admitted calmly, "Everyone knows Malfoy's never kiss and tell, so they won't try and find out who it was."

She swallowed, and leant towards him, tentatively kissing his neck, and then hesitantly biting and sucking a point about an inch above his collarbone. "You'll have to be rougher than that if you want to leave a real mark," he got out, resisting the urge to moan.

Obediently, she bit and sucked more forcefully, eventually pulling back to look at it and looking very pleased with herself.

He smirked at her, standing up and pulling her with him.

She followed him out to the kitchen, watching with dismay as he opened the sliding glass door and stepped out into the rain.

"What are we doing?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the weather, hesitating to follow him outside.

"Broadening your horizons," he laughed, grabbing her hand and tugging her out into the wet. For a moment, she simply stared at him, baffled as he began to slowly stalk towards her, eyes glittering with mischief. He stopped directly in front of her, close enough that she could have counted his eyelashes if she'd wanted to.

"Kiss me, Hermione," he said.

Hearing his silky voice whisper her name, in what she suspected might be lust, Hermione launched herself into his arms, kissing him for all she was worth, forgetting about the miserable weather, the fact she was soaked through, the fact she was going to look like a drowned rat and the fact that this was someone who used to bully her. Okay, maybe she didn't forget all of those things, but it would be fair to say that right now, she certainly didn't care about them.

Pushing her up against the wall of the house, he kissed her passionately, hands running down her back to grasp her bum, pulling her as close to him as she could get. After a moment, he pulled away somewhat reluctantly. He pulled them back into the house, and gestured to the floor in front of the still open door. "Wait here," he said mysteriously, disappearing off upstairs.

He came back carrying an old fashioned, expensive looking cigarette holder. There were only four cigarettes in it, two gold and two smaller bright blue ones.

Hermione bit her lip, "Malfoy, I'm not so sure..."

"Firstly, they're wizarding cigarettes, and we've got the process refined much further than the muggles - they're almost completely free of harmful ingredients. Didn't you ever wonder why you never hear of wizards with lung cancer or other smoking related illnesses? Secondly, one cigarette will be fine. Thirdly, the blue ones will knock another question off the list too."

She frowned at him, confused, as he pulled out a gold one and lit it, taking a drag before passing it to her.

"What's the difference?"

"The gold ones are basically the same as muggle cigarettes, only far less unhealthy. The blue," he hesitated, "have a tiny amount of cannabis in, as well as charmed saffron."

"What does it do?"

"We'll come to that in a minute," he said vaguely, "try the gold one. It only has to be a little to satisfy the question after all."

Frowning, she took a small toke of the gold one, surprised it didn't make her cough. She pulled a face and he laughed, throwing it out onto the ground outside and stamping it out.

"Brave enough?" he taunted, twirling one of the small blue cigarettes between his fingers.

She narrowed her eyes, "What does it do?"

He hesitated, "Nothing bad, it just relaxes you and...the saffron works as an aphrodisiac."

Her eyebrows shot up, and she looked affronted, so he hurried on before she could talk.

"One toke each is enough for you to say yes to another question tomorrow night, Granger," he explained carefully, "That was all I meant by it, if you don't want to, we won't."

She hesitated then said nervously, "one each. That's all."

He nodded and lit the cigarette, inhaling before passing it to her. She inhaled and then passed it back to him, watching as he carefully ground this one out and placed it back.

"They're expensive," he said by way of explanation, and she had to wonder why he'd chosen to offer it to her if that was the case. Instead, she simply nodded and asked quietly. "What's next?"

"I've no idea," he admitted, moving towards her and kissing her again. Instantly, Hermione felt a ball of heat grow low in her stomach, and she leant back further until she was lying on the dining room floor. He leant over her, knees on either side of her waist, and she moaned loudly as he pressed against her. Kissing her passionately, he stopped long enough to say, "We should stop."  
>Hermione ignored him, kissing him fiercely, and he rolled off, lying on the floor next to her, facing her. He slid his hand up her leg as she kissed him, stroking her thighs, just about able to feel the edges of her knickers beneath her soft leggings. She moaned again, and he trailed his fingers lightly up the inside of one of her thighs, slowly higher and higher, brushing against her centre just once before he forced himself to pull away. "Really, Granger," he said, "we should stop."<br>For a moment, she simply concentrated on getting her breath back to normal. She knew they should, but she'd never felt this wanted, this sexy or this...excited before.

He smiled at her pout, "You'd regret it tomorrow."

She frowned. "You don't know that."

"Maybe not," he said evenly, "But you don't know that you won't."

She sighed, but she knew he was right. "Although," he whispered, "you could complete another one off the list, and it might make you feel better." He pointed to the question he had in mind and she blushed furiously. "I assume you've never done that one."

She shook her head in confession, and he smirked.

"We'll see," she said, turning her back on him to head to her room. Just before she left the kitchen she hesitated. "Thanks Malfoy," she said quietly, rushing out before he could say anything.


	8. The hard way

**[8.] The hard way**

Bellatrix Lestrange sat rocking in a cell in Azkaban. Her prison uniform hung off her in tatters, her face dirty and gaunt, and her eyes more crazy than ever before. The loss of the Dark Lord had affected the Death Eater terribly - she'd barely resisted when the order captured her, and in the months that she'd been in Azkaban, she'd never uttered a word.

When someone banged on the door of her cell, she didn't bother to turn, assuming it would be the guard dropping off food again. She was surprised, therefore, when the guard gruffly said, "You've got a visitor."

Bellatrix spun around, mildly curious to see who on earth would visit her - the Dark Lord was gone, and Rodolphus was in a cell the same as she. She watched in amazement as her guest pushed his hood back, revealing long blonde hair.

"Lucius?" she whispered, more confused than ever.  
>He raised an eyebrow at her sorry state, but she could see that Lucius didn't look too well himself.<br>"Rodolphus sent me," he said shortly.

"I thought you were in here?" she croaked out.

He sighed, "I was, I got let out early for 'good behaviour' and the..." His lip curled, "'noble' behaviour of my family."

Bellatrix laughed manically, "You were no better than the rest of us," she argued, "you just got lesser charges because you were too cowardly to do the things we were supposed to do!"

Lucius rolled his eyes, "I'm not here to argue with you, Bella. Rodolphus told me to give you a message. I owe him a favour and we Malfoys always pay our debts."

"What did he say?" she whispered, eyes trained on his face.

"That you should start looking at the daily prophet again," Lucius said cryptically, "Rodolphus said he'd sent a 'gift' the two of you had been planning to Hogwarts, and he thought you'd enjoy seeing the "sins of youth" run wild."

"That's it?" she asked him, staring at him intently, the madness receding slightly behind a glimmer of hope.

"Yes," Lucius said, anxious to get out of Azkaban as soon as possible now that he was finally free. "He said he wasn't sure who the gift would reach, but he was sure it would be someone appropriate, and he hoped you'd approve of him acting alone."

"Oh I do," she breathed, "but how did he do anything from in here?"

"I've no idea," he snapped, "and I assure you I don't care. I want nothing to do with it."

"Of course you don't, coward," she snapped back, a hint of her former malice coming through, "but Dumbledore will learn the hard way that we can mess with those kids even now. And what makes it even better, is that we haven't really done anything, except encourage their baser instincts - he'll soon see that they're horrible little brats."

Ranting to herself about Hogwarts' upcoming disaster, she didn't notice Lucius roll his eyes and leave, looking at the crazy woman disgustedly before leaving Azkaban once and for all. 

* * *

><p>Harry was surprised to see a note shoved into his hand by none other than Draco Malfoy at breakfast on Friday. "What's this?" he asked, trying to sound neutral.<p>

"We're doing pre/post drinks at ours tonight. That's the details and the people invited." Draco responded evenly.

"Right, so you and Hermione are best mates now? Having a joint house party?" Harry argued skeptically, "I can't see her agreeing to this."

Draco sighed, "We're being civilized. We decided on a compromise for tonight, to complete some of the achievements and to hopefully get everyone to see each other a bit differently."

"You're buying into this house unity thing then?" Harry scoffed, "Draco Malfoy, pureblood Slytherin thinks everyone should get on?"

"Not everyone," Draco bit out, "but yeah, I think we should give it a go. Can't hurt, right?"

Harry stared at him a moment, before nodding slowly. "Fair point," he conceded. "I can agree to that." He hesitated, before holding out his hand. Draco stared at it, then shook hands with his former rival. 

* * *

><p>"Right," Harry said after everyone had arrived at breakfast that day, "The people invited tonight are: Me, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Seamus &amp; Luna. From the slytherins, it's Malfoy, Zabini, Nott, Parkinson, Davis &amp; Greengrass."<p>

He looked around to see everyone nodding, and hanging on to his every word. "You sure about this Hermione? You look pretty worried, but Malfoy said you guys had agreed on a compromise for tonight?"

"No, no, I'm fine Harry. Just not really awake yet," she tried to laugh off his concerns, wondering why Draco had passed up the chance to point out their bet, and the fact she'd lost.

Still looking slightly concerned, Harry continued to read.

"_'We finish classes at 12 today, so that gives the girls hours to get ready before meeting at the lake at 6.30 for pre-ball cocktails at ours. That means we've got a chance to talk to each other before alcohol kicks in, and the girls can show off their dresses. After the ball, we'll head back to the house for post-ball drinking - lots of alcohol, stupid drinking games, you guys know the drill. Girls, bring something more practical to wear - you can drop it off during the cocktails._'"

Harry stared around the group, "What do you think?"

"Why not?" Ginny laughed, "It should be fun. Slytherin parties are meant to be much crazier than ours!"

"That's what worries me!" he objected.

"Don't be such a wimp, Harry." She turned to Hermione, "What are we going to wear though?"

Hermione shrugged, "Jeans and a t-shirt?"

"No way, Hermione!"

Hermione looked baffled, "I thought the point was something practical?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "And you think the slytherin girls will dress that way? Of course not! They'll be dressing to impress - and we should too!"

Hermione sighed, "You'll have to come help me pick something out."

"Of course," Ginny laughed. 

* * *

><p>Draco was slightly surprised to see his eagle owl, Zeus land on the Slytherin table at lunchtime. He absently passed the owl some food, untying the letter from his leg. He recognised his mother's neat handwriting, but had to read the letter through three or four times before the message finally sunk in. His father was out from Azkaban. Draco felt a mix of emotions, completely uncertain whether to be relieved or angry. His relationship with Lucius had become more and more strained throughout the years, as Lucius had become more desperate to redeem their family's standing with Voldemort. Draco knew his father was not as bad as Death Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange, or the Carrows, but he was still a Death Eater, and he'd made no effort to redeem himself.<p>

Lucius still looked down on Muggles and Muggleborns, something which Draco felt he should have learnt to let go of - even if only publicly to save face. Skimming the letter again, Draco snorted at the idea that his mother had proposed. No way was he missing the welcome party - that he'd organised no less! - to have 'tea' with his newly reunited parents. He scrunched the letter up into a ball, not bothering to send a reply, and headed to classes, trying to ignore the sick feeling of dread that had formed low in his stomach.


	9. Brilliant Handshakes

**[9.] Brilliant handshakes**

Hermione sat quietly in her room as Ginny fussed with her hair, trying style after style. Usually, Hermione wasn't too fussed about these kind of things - of course she wanted to look good, it was always gratifying to see the boys' expressions, but she wasn't interested in spending hours on getting ready. The Yule Ball had proved to everyone that she could be pretty, and since then, a mild effort to make her look nice was enough - she wasn't interested in lots of male attention, so she could never be bothered with the hours of primping that Lavender and the others put in to look stunning.

Tonight however, she could admit to herself at least, was different. Although they hadn't mentioned it since, and although it was meant to mean nothing, last night had changed the way she looked at Malfoy. For one thing, she found herself thinking about those soft kisses ever so often when they talked, and remembering the feel of his hands on her whenever he waved them around, gesticulating in a conversation he felt passionate about. Not to mention, she felt a certain...intimacy with him, a secret only the two of them shared, something that was almost as sexy as the way he'd kissed and touched her the night before. It didn't help either, that he'd been so nice about everything. No sarcasm, no criticism, and no pushing for anything more than she'd wanted to do. A tiny part of her wondered if that was because maybe he just didn't find her attractive, and didn't want to do anything more with her, but remembering the way he'd looked at her, the way he'd moaned, she couldn't entirely believe that. Even if it was just hormones, Draco Malfoy had wanted Hermione Granger and that gave her a thrill. The idea of looking fantastic tonight and encouraging him to want her more gave her an even bigger thrill, and she was working on convincing herself it was purely for the confidence boost she'd get, rather than admitting that she wanted him too. Ginny paused her attentions to Hermione's hair, looking at the witch curiously, "Are you alright, Hermione?" the red-head asked, "You've been very quiet."

"Just thinking, really. I'm quite looking forward to tonight," she admitted nervously.

Ginny gasped in exaggerated surprise. "Hermione Granger, looking forward to an evening of dancing, noise and drunken revelry? With the Slytherins, no less? What's wrong with you?"

Hermione laughed, "You're looking forward to it!" she protested.

"I always look forward to a party!" Ginny laughed, "But usually you don't seem that fussed."

Hermione shrugged, "I'm hoping the boys can learn to get along with Malfoy, he's been quite nice to me, and it'd be nice not to spend the year breaking up fights."

Ginny gave Hermione a speculative look, then said only "Well we can hope. Pansy's been friendly enough, I suppose."

"Oh of course! I forgot you were living with her, is she a nightmare?" Hermione asked, worried for her friend.

"No, not really," Ginny mused, rearranging Hermione's hair yet again, "She's been civil enough, we just haven't really had anything to talk about."

Hermione frowned, "Hopefully tonight will make things better rather than worse!"

Ginny merely shrugged, holding a mirror up behind Hermione's hair to ask, "What do you think?"

"Oh wow Gin!" Hermione said in wonder, "It's beautiful."

Whatever Ginny had done to Hermione's hair looked fantastic. Hermione had no idea how it worked, but the back was up, and she could just about make out lots of small plaits and loose curls, whilst the rest trailed over her left shoulder, loosely curled.

Ginny grinned at Hermione's face and began rummaging through her drawers in search of decoration. Eventually she sighed, pulling out nothing except a few brightly coloured hair elastics and some plain kirby grips. "Is this really all you've got?" Ginny sighed in exasperation.

Hermione blushed and nodded, "You've seen how rarely I put my hair up!" she protested, "And when I do, it's to keep it out of my face when I'm studying, not to look pretty."

Ginny merely rolled her eyes in resignation and passed the handful of grips to Hermione. "Do something with them," she said firmly. When the brunette stared at her, she elaborated, "just transfigure them into something simple but plain. In fact, give them here!" she said finally.

Muttering a spell under her breath, she transformed them into spiral hair grips. Each of the hair grips had a coloured pearl on, either green or copper, and Ginny quickly slipped them into Hermione's hair, dotted around to subtly glimmer under lights. Satisfied with her work, Ginny announced smugly, "Just your make up to do, then it's my turn."

Hermione paled, "but Ginny, I don't know the first thing about hair or make up, what if I make you look awful?"

Ginny laughed easily, "Don't worry Hermione, I know that so I asked Pansy to help. I just want her to give me a hand with my hair and I'll sort my own make up out," she said confidently.  
>Unsure what to say to that, Hermione said only "oh,", trying to ignore the slight pang she felt at the fact Ginny had disregarded the idea of her help. It's true that she was helpless with stuff like make up, but she'd assumed Ginny would sort her own hair and the two of them would get ready together, like usual. She shook her head, <em>It's good that they're getting on, what is my problem?<em>

Shaking off her strange mood, Hermione closed her eyes and tried not to fidget as Ginny went to work on her make up, sweeping on eyeshadow, eyeliner, various face products that baffled her, lip gloss and finally perfume. _  
><em>  
>Opening her eyes, Hermione looked in the mirror and smiled. Ginny had done a great job, as always. The make up was subtle enough for Hermione to handle - she still looked like herself, just a little more sophisticated. "I didn't want to do too much," Ginny said, sounding a little nervous, "I figured the dress was enough of a statement by itself."<p>

"It's great Gin," Hermione said simply, standing up and hugging the red-head.

Ginny smiled, "Okay, so, you just have to go home, paint your nails, put your dress on, not mess up your hair or make up and not kill Malfoy. Reckon you can manage all that?" she laughed.

Hermione grimaced slightly but nodded, "Of course, you call Pansy and sort your hair out. I'll see you at ours a bit early to pick out something to wear for tonight?"

Ginny grinned, looking slightly evil. "Yup, and I'll be bringing a few outfits with me just in case!" she smirked, showing that despite seeming sweet sometimes, she definitely was still the twins' little sister. 

* * *

><p>Draco meanwhile, was rummaging through the cookbooks in the study, hoping to find one on cocktails. Finally finding one, he pulled it out and carried it through to the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table and began skimming the recipes, noting down any really common ingredients. He wasn't sure that the kitchen would provide them with that much alcohol, and planned to send a note to each guest with a particular item to bring. Hearing the front door open, he yelled out, "Oi Granger!".<p>

"What?" she called back.

He decided not to bother yelling back - now that he had her attention, he knew she'd come through to the kitchen. After a few moments however, she still hadn't appeared and he frowned. "Are you coming in or what?"

"I -" she hesitated. "No." She said, her resolve stiffening. "I'm half ready, and coming in now would spoil things."

He rolled his eyes - like he cared what she looked like. "I want to talk to you about cocktails," he said, frustrated.

He could hear her shuffling around, and assumed she must have gone in search of a cocktail book too. Sitting on the floor in the hallway, she flicked through the book she'd found in silence for a few moments. Finally she called out, "Sex on the beach is always a good one," she said.

"Excuse me?" he sniggered.

She blushed, even though he couldn't see her embarrassment. "It's a cocktail," she said defiantly.

"I know," he smirked.

Rolling her eyes, she continued flicking through the book, "I don't know many wizarding cocktails," she admitted, "or shot recipes, so you'll have to think of those."

He nodded to himself, noting down the ingredients for sex on the beach on his list. "What about a long island iced tea?" she asked, "or a tequila sunrise?"

After about half an hour, they had a sizeable cocktail list, and Draco sent out notes asking each guest to owl back a specific ingredient, and any alcohol or shot glasses they happened to have lying around.

* * *

><p>Draco was in the middle of making a huge batch of cocktails when Hermione came into the kitchen. She looked stunningly pretty, but he said only, "You look nice, Granger."<p>

She blushed prettily and said quietly. "Thank you Malfoy. You too."

His tux was perfectly cut, in an elegant dark grey with black piping. She blushed as she looked him up and down, catching sight of the lovebite she left last night.

Feeling her gaze on him, he smirked. "Are you coming to help or what?" he asked, resisting the urge to laugh.

"Yes," she said, cringing at having been staring at him, "What should I do?"

He looked at her dress and sighed, "It's probably not a good idea for you to actually help mix. Take the list and read things out."

He handed her a piece of parchment with a list of the cocktails they'd planned to make, and their ingredients. In front of him were a selection of punch bowls, labelled 'Sex on the beach', 'Tequila Sunrise', 'Glass Tower', 'Zombie', 'Wizard Punch' and 'Slow Swirl'.

Skimming the list, she realised he'd been adding each ingredient to the relevant bowls, rather than making each cocktail separately. Nodding at the efficiency she noted which ingredients had been crossed off before giving instructions. For a while there was silence apart from instructions such as, "The slow swirl needs 6 shots of red currant rum,", and the sounds of alcohol being poured into the bowls. Eventually with "The Wizard Punch needs 6 shots of firewhiskey," they were done, and had six huge punch bowls. With a tap of her wand on each label, Hermione made sure each cocktail label listed the ingredients (though not the quantities) so that people who hated a particular drink could avoid it.

"So," she said awkwardly, completely unsure what to say.  
>He smirked at her obvious discomfort, but she was saved from having to think of something to say by someone knocking on the door.<p>

"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed when she opened the door to Ginny, who was surprisingly with a slightly uncomfortable looking Pansy Parkinson. Ginny's gorgeous red hair, which had been shoulder length only this morning, was cut in a short bob. "Your hair looks so different!" Hermione exclaimed, inwardly wincing when she realised how that sounded. "I really like it," she continued, hoping Ginny wouldn't be offended.

Ginny laughed, knowing Hermione's tendency to be less than tactful sometimes when it came to 'girl stuff'.

Hermione laughed sheepishly, "I do really like it," she said sincerely, leading the way up to her bedroom, "it'll just take some getting used to."

"God your room's tidy," Pansy muttered, the first words she'd said so far.

Hermione glanced at her quickly, unsure what to say and just shrugged.

"She's always been super tidy," Ginny intervened in the silence, "It used to drive her mad when I left bottles in the shower and sink and stuff in Gryffindor Tower."

Hermione sighed, "That's because you can't possibly fit all of the girls' stuff in there, and it's not fair that one person should get to. Besides," she said sniffing, "it looks scruffy."

Ginny laughed, "Don't go near Pansy's room!"

Hermione looked at her questioningly, and the Slytherin only shrugged. "There's stuff everywhere. Always is," she said, watching curiously as Ginny began rooting through Hermione's wardrobe.

"Nothing too...skimpy, Gin, okay?" Hermione asked nervously. "Um hmm," Ginny said non-committal, not emerging from the wardrobe.

Sitting on the bed, Hermione took the chance to further inspect her best friend's roommate. The Slytherin had definitely grown into her looks as she'd aged - she no longer looked like a pug, and Hermione could admit that she was actually quite pretty. Her hair was a sunny blonde (though Hermione didn't know if that was natural), and her dress was stunning. A floor length, classic taffeta gown in midnight blue, with diamante detailing along the sweetheart neckline and along the halterneck straps. The top half clung to her curves, and her back was bare apart from a large bow tied halfway up. Hermione realised she might not be the only one who'd done some growing up.

"What are the two of you wearing later?" Hermione asked, making an effort to include Pansy as Ginny pulled out a few items from the wardrobe and threw them on the bed.

"I've got a lace skirt and a smart purple vest top," Pansy said after a moment, "and an amazing pair of purple heels with silver studs and things on them," she continued enthusiastically.

Hermione smiled, "What about you Gin?"

Ginny however, was not listening. "This," she said, forcefully handing Hermione a few items.

"I'm not sure, Gin," Hermione said anxiously, looking at what Ginny had picked. Ginny was adamant however, and so Hermione reluctantly decided it would have to do. 

* * *

><p>Hermione watched on anxiously as for a moment Harry, Ron and Draco all simply stared at each other. There was a tense moment of awkward silence before finally Harry stuck his hand out, "Harry Potter".<p>

For a moment, Hermione thought Draco wouldn't take it - that all his civility for the past few days had been a horrible prank, and that he was going to go back to his old self. But she needn't have worried. He slowly reached out and shook hands with Harry, "Draco Malfoy," he said simply.

Ron didn't offer Draco his hand, and Draco didn't offer his to Ron either, but really that was more than even Hermione had been hoping for. The fact that Harry and Draco had been civil enough to shake hands was simply brilliant. She'd been terrified the boys would be unable to get on, have a huge fight, and generally ruin her chances of getting a decent grade with the project. She was ridiculously relieved to know that her fears had been unfounded.

Looking around the room, she was amazed at how well everyone seemed to be getting on. Blaise, Theo and Seamus were stood on the decking talking, Ron, Harry and Draco were making (somewhat stilted) small talk as they got drinks, and Luna was talking to the girls. Noticing that all the girls were sat at one end of the kitchen table looking rather baffled, she realised Luna was probably talking at them rather than to them and laughed quietly to herself. She decided to go get herself a drink, enjoy a little more people watching, and then go and join in.

Pouring a glass of the sex on the beach cocktail, she sipped it slowly, enjoying the fruity flavours as she admired the other girls' dresses. Tracey Davis, who Hermione barely knew, was wearing a very unusual but very pretty pale blue dress. It had only one shoulder and the bodice was decorated with weaved material of varying shades of blue. It was simple, pretty and unusual. It was also not at all what Hermione would have expected a slytherin girl to wear - it wasn't green, and it wasn't revealing - in fact it was downright innocent. Frowning at her own prejudices, Hermione took another sip of her drink, feeling a slight warmth from the alcohol. Daphne Greengrass' dress was totally unexpected again. Although, Hermione thought smiling wryly, it was far more 'typical Slytherin'. All Hermione really knew about Daphne was that she was very intelligent, which had led Hermione to jump to the conclusion that Daphne would have similar dress sense to her. She'd been drastically wrong, however. The dress was gorgeous, but Hermione would never have had the confidence to wear it. It was a dark chocolate satin, which clung to her body, hitting the floor. It was also very low cut, and had a slit running all the way up one side, to high on Daphne's thigh. Since the cut of the dress was obviously designed to attract attention, it was very simple - some slightly detailing around the v neckline, and at the top of the skirt at the back, but otherwise plain. Like Pansy's, the dress was mostly backless - the halter neck straps crossed at the neck, and formed a large cross over her shoulder blades, but other than that her back was bare.

Hermione spotted Luna's dress and smiled. It was very unusual, and that suited Luna perfectly. It was a short dress, with a puffed out skirt, a sweetheart neckline and no straps. It was a bright apple green, with a thick satin belt underneath the bust. Below the top layer of material, you could just about make out a multicoloured leopard print all over the underneath layer. If anyone had described it to Hermione, she would have said it sounded hideous, and she'd certainly never wear it herself. The dress was surprisingly pretty though, and worked perfectly for the unique blonde.

Walking over to the table, carefully in her heels and long dress, Hermione joined the group of girls, smiling slightly awkwardly. Ginny and Luna smiled at her warmly, Daphne was engrossed in a conversation with Pansy, and Tracey looked just as nervous as she herself felt. "Hi," she said, not really sure what else to say.

"Hello Hermione," Luna said dreamily, "Did you know you had a wrackspurt in here? I'm sure I felt one, and Malfoy seems very distracted,"

Hermione gave Luna a sharp look, wondering if maybe she was far more perceptive than they gave her credit for. Uncertain what to say, she said only, "Thanks Luna".

For a while, the group mingled, making small talk and generally trying to put aside the hatred of their entire school career. Though there was still some awkwardness, Hermione was pleased at just how well everything seemed to be going - she'd never expected everyone to instantly become best friends, and for them to all be getting along made her exceedingly happy.

Just then, Draco yelled out, "It's 8 o'clock," breaking Hermione's train of thought. She carefully gathered her skirts, and followed everyone else to the supposed 'Party of the Year'. 

* * *

><p><strong>Cocktail recipes:<strong>  
>Sex on the beach,<br>9 oz vodka  
>3 oz peach schnapps<br>12 oz cranberry juice  
>12 oz orange juice<p>

Tequila Sunrise,  
>12 shots of Tequila,<br>12 shots of grenadine  
>Orange juice to top up<p>

Glass Tower,  
>6 oz vodka,<br>6 oz triple sec,  
>6 oz peach schnapps,<br>6 oz rum,  
>3 oz sambuca,<br>Lemonade to top up

Zombie,  
>3 oz Bacardi Rum<br>6 oz pineapple juice  
>6 oz orange juice<br>3 oz apricot brandy  
>6 tsp sugar<br>12 oz light rum  
>6 oz dark rum<br>6 oz lime juice  
>Extra orange &amp; pineapple juice if required<p>

Wizard Punch  
>6 shots Firewhiskey<br>6 shots peach schnapps  
>6 shots sweet and sour mix (1 part sugar syrup, such as Falernum, and 1 part lemon juice, until you have enough)<br>12 shots of orange juice  
>6 shots of 7-Up<br>6 shots of grenadine

Slow Swirl  
>4 shots of vanilla vodka,<br>6 shots of redcurrant rum,  
>4 shots cointreau<br>Topped up with orange juice


	10. Dance Floor Anthem

**[10.] Dance Floor Anthem**

Hermione smiled as a song she liked came on. She vaguely knew it, and could sing along to the chorus, but had never really paid attention to the bulk of the lyrics before. Now, however, tired from dancing, she sat at a table with a drink, listening to the words.

"She's going out to forget they were together  
>All that time he was taking her for granted<br>She wants to see if there's more  
>Than he gave, she's looking for"<p>

She laughed inwardly, listening as the song continued.

"He calls her up  
>He's trippin' on the phone<br>Now he doesn't want her out there and alone  
>Now he knows she's smiling and<br>Knows she's using it  
>Now he's losing it<br>She don't care"

Ron was definitely losing her, she thought wryly. Acting like a complete jerk had broken them up for sure, but Hermione thought Ron was secretly hoping the two of them would get back together - or maybe just hook up drunk. She knew though, that that was never going to happen. Not only had the things he'd said and done firmly convinced her to never date him again, she could admit to herself that she wasn't attracted enough to Ron for the two of them to hook up, even if she'd been the kind of girl to do so. She couldn't believe the...weirdness of the situation. Kissing Draco Malfoy, in an impulsive attempt to protect herself from humiliation in drinking games, had shown her how it really felt to be attracted to someone. Laughing at how surreal it was, she decided she wanted to sing and dance to the song, and dragged Ginny up to the dance floor with her. Joining in with the lyrics she sang:

"Everybody, Put up your hands Say:  
>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"<br>Feel the beat now  
>If you've got nothing left say:<br>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"  
>Back it up now<br>You've got a reason to live say:  
>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"<br>Feelin' good now  
>Don't be afraid to get down say:<br>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love" "

Malfoy watched curiously as Ginny and Hermione bounced to the song, singing their hearts out. Listening to it, he smirked inwardly. He'd be willing to bet...maybe not his fortune, but certainly a portion of it, that Granger was thinking about Weasley and how she was better off without him. He couldn't help but privately think she was right. He stood and watched for a while, absently thinking that the guys behind the song had a point. He'd never been in love, but mostly it seemed like a total pain in the ass. Laughing at himself, he shook off his strange mood, and went off in search of Blaise to plot the post-ball drinking games.

Meanwhile, Ron was also listening to the song...bitterly. He couldn't help but feel that he'd been given a raw deal when it came to Hermione.

"He was always givin' her attention  
>Working hard to find the things she mentioned<br>He was dedicated  
>By most sucka's hated<br>That girl was fine  
>But she didn't appreciate him"<p>

That was exactly right, he thought. Okay, maybe he hadn't been the perfect boyfriend, but he'd done his best, and he couldn't be blamed for wanting more - every guy in the school did, and they'd been dating for months!

"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"  
>Feel the beat now<br>If you've got nothing left say:  
>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"<br>Back it up now  
>You've got a reason to live say:<br>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"  
>Feelin' good now<br>Don't be afraid to get down say:  
>"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"<p>

Shaking his head, he knew he was wrong - he was trying to justify his behaviour to himself. Just one more difference between him and her - she looked at facts as they were, then made a decision. He tried to make the facts fit decisions he'd already made. Maybe he and Hermione were doomed to fail. Sighing, he listened to the song, realising that the end of them as a couple didn't have to be the end of everything else.

"We break up it's something that we do now  
>Everyone has got to do it sometime<br>It's okay  
>Let it go<br>Get out there and find someone".

That was exactly what he had done, he thought bitterly, he'd gone and found Lavender...and he didn't feel any better. Sighing, he tried to shake off his depressing mood, and went in search of more alcohol. 

* * *

><p>The party slowly wound down to a close, though many students were reluctant for it to end - it may not have been the best party ever, but it'd certainly set the standard high for the rest of the year's events. Heading back to Hermione and Draco's house, the group of seventh years (plus Ginny and Luna) prepared for an evening of drinking games, laughter, and probably embarrassment. Smiling slightly, Hermione headed up to her room to change as the other girls went to get ready in the bathroomextra credit area/any room they could find. Her smile dipped slightly when she saw the clothes Ginny had picked out laying on the bed. Hermione wasn't honestly sure that all of these clothes had come out of her wardrobe, she certainly didn't think she'd ever worn them!

Sighing, she locked her door, and shimmied out of her gorgeous copper and green ball gown. Slipping the cream camisole on over her strapless bra, she realised you could just see the mark from the night before. She swallowed audibly, and sat down on the bed, determined not to keep thinking about it. She slipped on a pair of skin coloured tights, trying to pretend she wasn't mildly fixated with thinking about Malfoy and the things they'd done. She stepped into the high waisted denim shorts, but slipped on the sheer taupe coloured shirt before she did them up. Tucking the shirt in, she did the shorts up, pulling the shirt out slightly so that it billowed a little over the waistband of the shorts. She slipped on the ridiculous shoes Ginny had dug out of the bottom of her wardrobe. They were a cream pair of high heeled pumps her mum had bought in the sale after Hermione impulsively admitted liking them. They'd never been worn. Deciding she couldn't be bothered to do anything with her hair, she left it as it was, and instead took off her eye make up, replacing it with more subtle shades of cream and gold.

Slipping on a necklace with a book on, Hermione decided she was as ready as she would ever be, and stood in front of the mirror to survey the damage. She was pleasantly surprised to note that she looked nice - sexy but still classy. Admittedly, the outfit was more sophisticated than something she would have picked out herself, but for a moment she just enjoyed being a girl, and liking her outfit. Finally, she decided she couldn't put it off anymore, and left her room to face the others. She knocked on the door to the extra credit area, to see if Ginny and Pansy were ready to head downstairs with her. "Can I use your mirror?" Pansy asked as Hermione came in.

Hermione nodded, smiling, and Pansy dashed out. Ginny was ready, so the two of them went to sit on Hermione's bed as they waited for Pansy. Hermione inspected Ginny's outfit as Pansy stood in front of the mirror to deal with her hair. Ginny had on a short, tight black dress. A black strapless mini dress made up the base layer, and over the top was a sheer layer, with long sleeves. She had heels with multicoloured glitter on, as well as nail varnish that matched. She also wore a necklace with a tiny bottle on, which was full of matching glitter and said 'Moondust' on it.

Pansy piled her long blonde hair up into a Grecian style bun, a messy style to counterbalance the girliness of her outfit. She had on a black lace skirt, with a purple vest top with diamante straps. Her heels were every bit as impressive as she'd said. They were a perfect purple to match her shirt, and had studs and jewels on.

When the three girls were finally ready, they headed downstairs, to find everyone else already waiting in the living room. Taking one look at the boys spread out over the corner couch, Hermione decided that there wouldn't be nearly enough room. "Up boys," she said firmly, and waited while the grumbling boys stood up. She pointed her wand at the couch, summoning the cushions to her. A quick flick of her wand stretched the cushions and she threw them onto the floor, opposite the sofa, making a kind of loose circle. Noticing that Daphne wore a short leather skirt, Hermione realised that Ginny, Daphne and Pansy would all be better off sat on the sofa, rather than trying to find a comfortable but modest way to sit. She sat herself down on a cushion, inwardly grateful for her shorts. Tracey Davis, who wore a black playsuit covered with white sparrows, smiled shyly and sat next to her. Ginny, Pansy and Daphne sat on one side of the sofa, while Luna, Draco and Theo sat on the other. Ron, Harry and Blaise sat down on the cushions and finally everyone was settled.

Until they realised basically everyone needed a drink. With mixed grumbling and laughter, the group piled through into the kitchen, helping themselves to drinks. "Try this one," Draco said smoothly, handing her a glass of what she thought was the 'Glass Tower'.

"Oh. I was just going to have-"

"Yes, I know, Granger," he said rolling his eyes, "But it's good to try new things."

She blushed and he smirked, walking off to find Pansy's list of questions. He called her over, and Pansy did a complicated bit of magic, replicating her list so that each question was on a small piece of paper, rolled up in the bowl Draco provided. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed.

Once everyone finally had a drink, Draco put the bowl in the middle of the circle and said, "What do you want to start with?"

"Two truths and a lie is easiest," Ginny mused, "but if we start with something that involves drinking, everyone might loosen up a bit more."

"How about we start with two truths and a lie then, but make it a drinking game?" Harry asked.

Everyone turned to look at him and he looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, something like each person guesses which statement they think is the lie, and if you turn out to be wrong, you have to take a bit of your drink? That means we could start with the easy game, and everyone would have a few drinks as we play so people could relax."

"That sounds good," Blaise said. "So who wants to start?"

For a moment there was silence before Harry decided to bite the bullet and go for it, "I will. Erm...My middle name is James, my favourite food is treacle tart, and I support the Chudley Cannons".

Everyone started talking at once, loudly proclaiming which statement they took to be the lie, and eventually the correct answer was given. For about half an hour they played, by which time statements were getting more obscure and there were lots more drinks penalties being incurred. They decided to move on to 'Never have I ever' now that everyone was relaxed - and before everyone was completely drunk. There was a brief pause as they discussed the rules, and the fact that you were welcome to ask a question off the top of your head if you didn't like the one you drew - though you'd have to put the question back for someone else to ask.

Hermione pulled out the first question, relieved that it wasn't something awful (she'd seen the list after all, and knew some of the questions were very explicit!). "Never have I ever missed a lesson". No one was very surprised when everyone had to drink to that.

"Never have I ever been so drunk I threw up," Tracey read out quietly. All of the boys had to drink, as did Pansy and Ginny.

"Never have I ever smoked," Blaise read out. Hermione hesitated just a moment before taking her drink, trying to pretend she hadn't noticed the way Ron and Harry were staring at her in surprise. She caught Draco watching their reactions, and wasn't sure whether to laugh or run away and hide.

"Never have I ever broken a bone," Luna asked. Again, all of the boys had to drink due to various quidditch accidents, as did Ginny and Hermione. For a while they regaled the stories behind their accidents - Ginny had been riding a trick broom of Fred and George's which gave up on flying a fair way above the floor, and Hermione had had an accident whist skiing.

"Never have I ever had sex," Theo asked calmly. Everyone went quiet for a moment, feeling a change in the tone of questions. For a while no one moved, and then, "Harry!" Ron yelled, horrified. "You didn't!" Harry looked sheepish while Ginny tossed her hair back laughing at Ron's reaction. Hermione noticed that neither Tracey or Luna had taken a drink and that Blaise had, but had been too caught up in watching the Ron/Ginny drama to notice whether the others had. Then Ron took a drink, and for a moment everything stopped. She could have honestly sworn the room went silent, and for a second all she could hear was her heartbeat, and all she could feel was the blood rushing to her cheeks.

She shook her head, and went back to the game, unaware that anyone had seen her reaction. But when Draco asked his question, she knew they had. "Never have I ever kissed someone of a different house,".

Hermione took her drink quickly, trying not to be embarrassed, fully aware that it had been Draco's intention to give Ron a shock the way he'd just given her one, and she hid a smile at his sly tactics. As expected, Ron instantly asked "Who?" not paying any attention to everyone else and how they responded. "That's none of your business, Ron," Hermione said calmly.

"It's mine though," Ginny giggled, "you'll have to tell me later, I tell you everything!"

Hermione smiled, inwardly thinking there was no way she'd be giving Ginny the details.

Thankfully, Daphne's question came next, and it was shocking enough that everyone forgot about Hermione's latest revelation - something she was grateful for since she wouldn't have been surprised if Ginny used her question to narrow down the potentials.

"Never have I ever had a threesome," Daphne read aloud, as calm as if she was talking about the weather.

Everyone gawped at her for a moment, even more so when she drank...alone.

"Never have I ever bought a girl flowers," Ginny read out. Harry, Ron and Draco all drank.

"Never have I ever cheated on someone," Pansy read out. Only Ron drank.

"Never have I ever wanted to punch Snape," Ron read out, obviously relieved at the change of topic. Everyone drank to that, apart from Luna who was apparently too laid back to ever be irritated to that extent.

"Never have I ever kissed a member of the same sex," Harry read out, looking around the room curiously. Pansy took her drink, seemingly unembarrassed, and none of the Slytherin boys looked surprised. Luna had wondered off to the loo so no one know what her answer would be, but none of the other girls drank. "So are you..." Harry trailed off, seeming embarrassed.

"A lesbian?" Pansy asked, laughing at Harry's discomfort. He nodded. "No I'm bi," she announced calmly.

"So none of the rest of you girls have ever..." Blaise asked curiously. The girls shook their heads, and the boys exchanged grins.

"How about a deal," Blaise said slyly, "The boys won't ask you for homework help...for a month."

"If what?" Tracey asked blankly.

The boys grinned, and looked significantly at Pansy. "Oh." Tracey said, blushing furiously. "No offence to any of you," she said, looking around at the girls, "But no."

Pansy shrugged, "You haven't offered me anything I want,"

"Or me," Ginny said, blushing but obviously open to negotiation.

"We'll rig it so that your vote for the theme for Halloween wins," Draco said, speaking for the first time. Pansy bit back a grin - Draco knew exactly the sort of bribes she'd go for.

Harry crawled around the circle and whispered something into Ginny's ear. She blushed furiously but eventually said, "Maybe."

"What exactly are the terms?" Hermione said, surprising everyone with the fact she hadn't refused instantly. "One kiss," Blaise said, "with Pansy."

"Thirty seconds minimum," Theo interjected. "Tongues," Ron said, grinning crudely.

Hermione's brain worked furiously for a moment, listing the pros and cons of something so impulsive and un-Hermione. Not having to help with homework for a month and proving there was more to her than a bookworm (her two biggest pros) warred furiously with the awkwardness and the fact that Ron might enjoy it. Finally, she downed her shot for Dutch courage and said "Okay."

Everyone looked flabbergasted, but Pansy just shrugged, sharing a laugh with Hermione at the boys' expressions. She stood up, moving out of the circle and gesturing for Hermione to come with her. For a moment nothing happened, then they leant in and kissed. Hermione thought kissing Pansy was probably one of the weirdest things she'd ever done - especially knowing there was a room full of people watching. The kiss didn't really feel of much, she thought idly, probably because she had no interest in the Slytherin. It certainly didn't compare to kissing Malfoy, she thought, embarrassed even in her own head. Her train of thought was broken as she realised the thirty seconds was probably up. Pulling apart, they laughed at the boys who were all either cheering or stunned. Hermione sat back on the floor and Pansy looked at Ginny, one eyebrow cocked. Ginny's face took on that determined look and she stood up to join Pansy. The two began to kiss, and Hermione couldn't help but feel that Ginny was trying to 'upstage' her so to speak - their kiss looked very passionate. Taking her eyes off the very strange sight, she looked at the boys, amused that they were all glued to the sight in front of them - even Ron weirdly. He seemed to have forgotten his sister was one of the girls. Shaking off her disgust, she continued looking around the room, noticing that one boy was not staring at Ginny and Pansy. Malfoy was staring, not at the kissing couple, but at her. A very faint blush marked his cheeks, and a very slight smirk graced his features. _Pro number three, _she thought guiltily pleased, _wind Malfoy up._


	11. Utter Confusion

**[11.] Utter confusion**

Hermione sighed as she sat on her bed the next morning, bored and restless. Hearing a knock at the front door, she debated ignoring it but decided that Draco was unlikely to go answer it instead. Frowning she headed downstairs, surprised to open the door to a dishevelled looking Ginny Weasley. "Ginny?" Hermione questioned, ushering the red-head inside and closing the door. "Are you okay?"

To Hermione's horror and surprise, Ginny shook her head and burst into tears. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

Ginny shook her head, and Hermione, completely baffled, gave the sobbing girl a hug. "Is it...did something happen with Harry?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Ginny nodded but refused to elaborate and Hermione's brain feverishly began trying to figure out what could possibly have happened.

She gasped, "Are you pregnant?" Hermione asked, trying to keep all judgement out of her voice. Ginny shook her head.

"Is there...someone else?" she asked, thinking it sounded far-fetched but lacking any better ideas.

Ginny hesitated, then nodded.

"Did he...cheat on you?" Ginny shook her head, crying even harder.  
>"Did you...cheat on him?" Hermione asked, privately terrified but again trying to keep all censure out of her tone.<p>

Ginny hesitated then shrugged.

For a moment, Hermione was baffled. Surely it was a yes or no sort of question? Frowning, she continued thinking, and finally thought she might have got it.

"Was it..." Hermione trailed off blushing, wondering how to tactfully word it. "The thing with Pansy?"

Ginny sniffled and muttered very quietly, "sort of."

"But I thought Harry didn't mind." Hermione said, confused. She remembered that Harry had whispered something to Ginny beforehand, had grinned and stared the same as the other boys, and had been all over Ginny for the rest of the night. That didn't exactly give the impression he was unhappy about it.

Ginny sniffled, "He didn't."

Hermione tried to glean some information from that tiny sentence, but couldn't. If he didn't mind, what on earth was the issue?

Oh.

"Did you?" Hermione asked quietly. "I mean...do you think you might be...?"

Ginny looked at Hermione in silence for a moment and then began sobbing loudly again. Completely unsure whether that was a yes or a no, or how to handle either answer Hermione settled for playing it safe.

"It's okay Ginny, you can tell me anything. But I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Slowly, Ginny's crying began to calm down. Eventually it stopped altogether, and Ginny whispered so quietly Hermione could barely hear her, "Maybe."

Momentarily speechless Hermione couldn't stop the tiny, "oh" that escaped, and she mentally kicked herself as Ginny began crying again.

"So...you told Harry?" Hermione asked, trying to understand what had led the girl to come knocking on her door crying her eyes out.

Ginny nodded and sat up, still sniffling pathetically. "I just can't help," she sniffed, "but wonder," sniff, "what it'd be like."

Hermione nodded sympathetically, she could sort of understand that. None of Ginny's relationships had been serious before Harry, and now they were so serious it looked like there would never BE anyone else. Admittedly, Hermione had never expected that there would be a specific person who triggered that curiosity in Ginny, and she'd certainly never expected it to be a girl but...Ginny was her best friend. She wasn't going to abandon her over this, even if Harry might be hurt too. Ginny was a vivacious, friendly, flirty girl, with a (possibly slightly overdeveloped) sense of curiosity, it wasn't too surprising that she'd one day wonder if she was missing out. Or at least, Hermione reasoned that, having no real experience to compare.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked nervously.

Ginny sniffed again, wiping her eyes with a tissue Hermione handed her. "He was so angry, Hermione. I've never seen him that angry. But I had to tell him - didn't I?"

"Yes," Hermione said firmly, "I would have done exactly the same thing. You're a teenager, Gin," Hermione said sympathetically, "you're supposed to be busy figuring out who you are, and what you like - and that includes relationships and sex. You've never really got to do that because of Harry, and I can see how he might be hurt, but he can't really blame you for it!"

Hermione hesitated, and then continued. "At the end of the day, Gin, it didn't seem like he told you not to."

Ginny sniffed and laughed embarrassedly, "He said he thought it'd be hot."

"Exactly!" Hermione said, "So he can't really blame you for the feelings he helped to trigger off for his own pleasure! Besides, it's not like you acted on those feelings, you tried to be a good girlfriend and tell him how you felt, rather than lie about it, or act on them behind his back."

Ginny smiled sadly, "That's what I thought, but he said I shouldn't have said anything."

Hermione shook her head, "What a load of rubbish. If you'd thought some guy was mildly sexy once, then yeah sure, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have mentioned it to him unless your feelings were a bit stronger than that." She paused, feeling reassured when Ginny nodded in confirmation. "Exactly - this is a big deal Gin - it's the first girl you've ever even thought of like that, it seems like the sort of thing you're going to think about a lot - and Harry's a liar if he says he'd rather you stayed with him thinking about her, maybe more than thinking about."

Ginny sniffed sadly, "What am I going to do?"

Hermione thought internally about the strangeness of the situation - what did she possibly know about how to deal with this? She was straight, and had never been tempted to cheat on Ron. She sighed, knowing that Ginny probably came to her because Hermione was the problem-solver of the group, and because Ginny probably didn't know who else she could go to.

"Have you spoken to Pansy at all?" Hermione asked nervously.

Ginny shook her head furiously, blushing scarlet. "What on earth do I say?" she asked in confusion, "'Er hi, we've lived together for all of about two weeks, kissed once, and now I think I might be bi?' Yeah that'd go down well!" Ginny buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "I bet she has loads of girls interested in her - and men too! Can you really see her doing anything other than laughing in my face? I'm a Gryffindor, and a Weasley. I'm younger than her, I have no... experience with women, and may turn out to be straight."

Hermione frowned, seeing Ginny's point, but also frustrated at the idea that Ginny's relationship may have fallen apart for nothing - if Ginny didn't explore this newfound interest, there was no saying she'd deal with it, or not feel that way again in the future.

"Well," she said, thinking. "I don't think I'd word it quite like that," she admitted, "but I do think you should say something! What about if you just start working through the list of tasks for the projects, get to know each other a bit?" she asked, wondering what she would do in Ginny's situation. "Maybe subtly find out more about Pansy, and how she knew she was interested in women, and show her why she should give you a chance at the same time!"

Ginny sniffed, "Maybe," she said grudgingly, "That definitely sounds like a better idea than just outright talking to her."

Hermione frowned, "You could hold that in reserve, a backup plan for if you ever feel brave enough, or frustrated enough, to just come right out and say it."

Ginny sniffed, "Yeah right," she smiled wanly at Hermione, "Like you'd come right out and say it in my position."

Hermione sighed, thinking of the way her and Draco tiptoed around the events of the other night. "Maybe not," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean I shouldn't!" she said sadly. 

* * *

><p>Draco sighed, putting his quill down as he caught himself tapping it again. He was sat at his desk, attempting to make a head start on an essay, but kept finding himself distracted, thoughts drifting to a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor. Again.<p>

Running his hands through his hair, a habit he knew he should break since it was a sure sign that he was annoyed or nervous, he got up from his desk, abandoning the idea of work. Realising it was a lost cause made him irritable, knowing it was because of her made him furious. Full of restless, angry energy, he decided to get out of the house. Storming downstairs with his broomstick he briefly noticed her sat in the living room, but headed out without pause, too irritated to make conversation.

As soon as he was out of the house, he jumped on his broom, racing through the air towards the Quidditch pitch. As always, as soon as he was airborne he felt much better. Feeling the cold breeze run through his hair, numb his hands and rush into his lungs always made him feel invigorated. Alive. He raced around the pitch a few times, slowly feeling his rage ebb away, determined to think of nothing whatsoever except the physical adrenaline rush. Eventually, as his emotions levelled out, he slowed down, drifting lazily above the patch of forest that had been cleared, imagining the houses below that he couldn't see, and wondering how the rest of the year were getting on with their housemates. Now that he'd calmed down, he felt only mildly frustrated with himself, and his new obsession with Hermione bloody Granger. Apart from her, he could logically think about her looks and intelligence and personality, and wonder what he saw in her. With her, all he could think about was this overwhelming, utterly infuriating need to kiss her, and his rage at having feelings (even if they were purely lustful) for her. It had nothing to do with her being a muggleborn -despite his father's likely reaction- and everything to do with the fact that she was a Gryffindor, a teacher's pet and best friends with Potter and Weasley. It was the fact that she didn't care about her looks, or what people thought of her. No wait, those were good things. Feeling his blood begin to boil yet again, he determined to stop thinking about her. For half an hour or so, he did exactly that - flying around the pitch, thinking of Quidditch, of his friends, or occasionally of nothing but the adrenaline. Finally, he headed home.

Slamming the door behind him, he was amazed to see Hermione sat on the sofa, exactly where she'd been when he left her.

He debated pretending he hadn't seen her, or even just making it clear that he'd carried on to his room knowing she was there but eventually walked in and sat down.

He sighed, "What's wrong?". She looked shell shocked, sat staring at nothing.

She shook her head silently.

"Granger," he snapped, clicking his fingers in front of her face. "Talk! Is someone hurt? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, seeming to come out of her reverie. "No, sorry, I'm fine. No one's hurt," she said finally.

"Then why do you look like you just watched someone get hit by a bus?" He asked in confusion.

She laughed a little at his analogy but shook her head. "I can't tell you," she said vaguely, "I just got some...unexpected news that's all."

There was a moment of silence before he said bluntly, "You're not pregnant are you?"

She laughed, thinking of how she'd asked Ginny exactly the same thing. "No."

He let out a breath of relief; screw having to live with a pregnant woman. As she obviously wasn't going to tell him, he said the first thing that came into his head. "Want to do some project stuff?"

She let out a relieved sigh, "Yes," she said, smiling, "That sounds great, actually."

Somewhat confused and suspicious of her enthusiasm about what was, after all, homework, he said "We're definitely overdue for some exercise."

She sighed but knew he was right. "What are we doing?" she asked in resignation.

Frowning, he tried to remember what else they'd decided thought through the list. _Not cold enough for ice skating, too cold for hiking. Not gymnastics after last night, _he thought ruefully. _Need more people for Quidditch really...she needs to be fitter for circuits...horse riding or martial arts?_

"Martial arts," he announced aloud, deciding that maybe punching things would make him feel better.

"Okay," she agreed, "but how? I don't know anything about it, do you?"

"A very small amount," he concurred, "but I know someone who does!"

He quickly scribbled a note and sent it off with Zeus. "Go get changed into something exercise suitable," he said firmly.

Baffled but also curious, she headed upstairs and threw a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt on. After pulling her hair up into a ponytail she was ready. As she walked down the stairs, Draco was opening the door to Theo, which surprised her. She sat in the living room as they had a brief conversation, before they ushered her upstairs into the extra credit area. This room hadn't been used yet, and was near enough completely empty. A few quick spells from Theo softened the floor and Draco and Hermione waited in front of him for their lesson. 

* * *

><p>Very tired, but also exhilarated, Hermione was practically glowing upon completion of their first martial arts lesson. Theo had taken them through a fairly extensive warm up, before going through some basic blocks, punches, kicks and throws, drawing upon a range of different martial arts. Hermione really started to get enthused though, when he taught them a basic karate kata. The mental challenge of memorising the moves and thinking about their practical application distracted her from the physical exercise, and she was soon pushing for him to teach them more. Theo eventually gave in, and also taught her and Draco the second one, but refused to go further, insisting they'd done enough for one day. He also firmly explained to Hermione that without decent form, there was no point learning the katas, and so if she intended to keep it up, she'd also have to practice the basic moves and sparring. Though slightly less thrilled with that idea, Hermione was nonetheless pleased she seemed to have found an exercise she didn't hate, and was thanking Theo profusely for the lesson when she noticed Malfoy watching her in amusement. Unsure whether he was laughing at her, she smiled slightly and turned back to Theo, oblivious to Malfoy's irritated scowl.<p>

Feeling his mood plummet as Hermione laughed and chatted with Theo, Malfoy wondered what the hell had gotten into him recently. First he's civil – not only to her, but to her friends too – then he's kissing her, and now he's getting wound up watching her make simple conversation with one of his friends. If he was completely honest, he knew this level of rage was completely ridiculous – and also completely unlike him, he normally prided himself on his self-control. However, he was determined to shrug off his mood as a combination of stress, tiredness, and perhaps a tiny tiny speck of possessiveness, so he tried to ignore the way his blood was boiling and his temper was building.


	12. Hiding

Thinking about the way kissing Draco had made her feel, and the sudden strange feelings she'd developed, Hermione wondered idly if that meant she was ready for sex. She'd never felt ready with Ron, but then she'd never felt the way she had with Draco either. Did that mean she'd somehow magically become 'ready' without even doing anything? Or was it just that Draco had set off something different, a new kind of enthusiasm that Ron had never managed to...get started so to speak. Hermione didn't feel like she could talk to Ginny about any of this, Ron was after all her brother. Not to mention that Ginny had quite enough issues of her own to be dealing with right now. She didn't feel close enough to any other girls to ask, and there was no way she was asking any of the boys, so she took the typical Hermione Granger approach and consulted a book. Well, a magazine, because she didn't think she could just pick up a book on sex in the Hogwarts library.

So, on Sunday night, after a quiet day of getting ahead on homework, Hermione settled herself comfortably on her bed, and opened Cosmo on Campus, having spotted it in Hogsmeade during the dress shopping trip. When she'd opened the magazine on the day she'd bought it, she'd skimmed the sex article titles and ignored them. This time however, she actively went looking for them. Finding an article entitled, "Sex for first-time Freshers," Hermione swallowed nervously and began to read.

She skimmed the paragraphs on protection. All good reminders, but nothing she didn't already know (and of course it didn't mention the probably more reliable contraceptive potion they were currently brewing with Snape). When she reached teh paragraph entitled "Are you ready?", she knew she'd struck gold – this is exactly what she needed to know!

Having read the section, Hermione frowned to herself. She didn't want to have sex because 'all her friends were doing it' but she equally wasn't sure she was really ready yet. She guessed that must mean that she wasn't ready, and that Draco had merely triggered far more...lustful feelings that Ron had ever managed. Hermione wasn't sure whether to be horrified because it was Malfoy, or pleased because she now understood everyone else's enthusiasm for snogging. She smiled at her own confused mess of feelings and read on to the first-time tips – just for future reference and out of curiosity - and jumped guiltily when she heard a knock on the door. Hastily slamming the magazine shut, she yelled, "Come in,". 

* * *

><p>Leaning in the doorjamb, Draco affected an expression of boredom as he spoke. "I figured, as we'd had a boring day, we could do some project work."<p>

Hermione looked up at him briefly, then said "Okay," without any real enthusiasm, grabbing her folder to look through the list. The contrast between the excitement she'd been feeling when he knocked, and his icy demeanour now left Hermione feeling uninspired, and not particularly sociable. She could clearly remember how passionate and romantic he'd been a few days before when they were kissing, but couldn't consolidate that with the seemingly uninterested boy in front of her.

Draco had decided that an air of cool detachment would leave no room for potential lingering awkwardness, thereby ruling out any embarrassment on either students' behalf.

Eyes scanning the list, Hermione sighed softly and said "Why don't we just take the night off? I don't really feel like working."

Shocked at both the idea of the know-it-all refusing work, and her dispirited response, Draco hesitated, wondering what he'd done wrong and whether he should apologise. Then he wondered whether he even cared if he'd done something wrong, he shouldn't. Internally he sighed, the good version of himself winning out in the argument – if he'd done something intentionally that would be one thing, but as he hadn't he supposed he'd better find out what was wrong with her.

Trying not to sound sappy, like the Weasel, he asked from between clenched teeth, "Have I done something wrong?"

She looked at him briefly, as if surprised that he might have noticed something was wrong, and hesitated before speaking. She hated the fact that they were going to tip-toe around the events if the other night – she was fairly sure they'd go back to bickering to try and re-establish 'normality' which would certainly ruin their project. A tiny voice in the back of her head argued that the project wasn't all she was concerned with, but she shook it off and said only, "No, you haven't done anything." After all, if he wasn't going to bring it up, she wasn't going to. He was obviously horrified at himself and would rather pretend it never happened, which was fine by her, she thought sulkily.

Now even more baffled by the long silence and un-illuminating answer, Draco shrugged and left, heading back to his room to read. It wasn't until a few hours later that Draco realised the fact he 'hadn't done anything' may in fact be the problem – a thought which simultaneously gave him a fleeting excitement and revulsion at himself for that anticipation. Both students spent the rest of the evening alone in their room, concentrating on anything but each other and their new awkward tension, hiding from both each other and their feelings


	13. As Shallow Becomes Deep

By Thursday lunchtime, Hermione still hadn't really managed to shake off her grumpy mood. Unenthusiastically eating her lunch, Hermione was surprised when Ginny sat down opposite her and said firmly "Go away boys."

Harry and Ron looked at her in stunned silence for a second. Ron was just about to open his mouth to object when Ginny looked Harry in the eye for the first time in days and said quietly "Please."

Harry didn't even acknowledge Ginny, but he did grab his plate with one hand, Ron with the other, and shift them down the table a few places so they were out of earshot.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief. "Hermione, what's going on?"

Hermione looked up in confusion, "Lunchtime?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't pull that crap with me, Hermione. I don't mean right now, I mean with you."

Hermione was about to open her mouth to object when Ginny cut her off. "Come off it. I've been worrying about this thing with Harry all week and it's still been totally obvious something is up with you. I just want to help! Now spill."

Hermione sighed "I don't know Ginny, I just feel...off."

"Off how? Like sick?"

"No like..." Hermione hesitated. "This is going to sound stupid."

Ginny knew when to keep her mouth shut, so she just looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. "Like...sad," Hermione reluctantly finished.

"What did he do?"

"Who?"

"Ron, obviously. I assume this is his fault."

Hermione thought for a moment before shrugging, "He didn't do anything. No one's done anything. I don't think there's a particular reason, I just feel weird."

Ginny frowned, "If there's not a cause, how do we fix it?"

Hermione shrugged again, "I've no idea."

"Well we have to do something," Ginny said firmly, "You're so...distant. How about a party?"

Hermione laughed "Because the last one solved so many problems?"

Ginny frowned "Fair point. What about a girly night? We could invite everyone, paint nails and drink wine and talk about boys."

Hermione hesitated "How about a mini girl night? Just me, you and Luna?"

Ginny nodded enthusiastically, "Sure." She looked at Hermione speculatively a moment, "Wait a minute, Hermione, are you having..." she lowered her voice, "boy problems?"

Hermione bit her lip but didn't say anything.

Ginny grinned, "I knew there was something! And it's not my brother?! I need all the details, right now."

Hermione blushed and shook her head, "No way, Gin. And no boy problems, I just want a quiet night in with my girlfriends, is that so hard to believe?"

Seeing Hermione wasn't going to elaborate any further, Ginny just smiled, already trying to figure things out. "Sure Hermione, I'll arrange it." 

* * *

><p>Trying to shake herself out of her mood that afternoon, Hermione went to work doing one of her favourite things – planning. She had an idea that may just help cheer her up, but she wasn't sure if it would work when things were still so awkward between Harry, Ginny and Pansy, and herself, Draco and Ron. She thought about it for a while longer but the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea, so after Ancient Runes that afternoon, she went to see Professor Dumbledore.<p>

She was pleased when the staircase opened for her, presumably because she was Head Girl. She hesitated a moment in front of the door, but steeled her nerve and knocked.

"Come in, Miss Granger."

She smiled ruefully at the fact he always knew who was outside and headed in. "Why don't you take a seat and tell me what's on your mind my dear."

She sat in one of the armchairs in front of his desk and cleared her throat. "It's about one of the Inter-House co-operation project, Professor." He nodded for her to continue. "One of my individual tasks is to take Draco somewhere I love but that he's never been. I was wondering if we had to go alone, or if it could be a group trip."

Professor Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, "Is there a particular reason you do not wish to go alone with Mr Malfoy?"

She swallowed apprehensively but held her nerve. "It's not that I have a particular issue with going alone with him Professor, so much as that I think our friends would enjoy it as well."

He looked at her speculatively. "And where was it that you had in mind?"

"A muggle theme park, Professor, either Alton Towers or Thorpe Park."

He thought for a moment and then asked "Is there somewhere else you could think of that would work for this task?"

"Well yes I suppose so," she said, feeling slightly deflated, "It's just I thought that everyone would enjoy it."

"And you were planning to take both your friends and his?"

She nodded, slightly confused.

"Well then Miss Granger, why don't you go to the theme park, without making it a part of the project? That way you could still take Mr Malfoy somewhere you love later on in the year."

She frowned thoughtfully, "I didn't think we'd be allowed off school grounds without a good reason Professor."

"Your birthday is coming up soon isn't it, Miss Granger?"

She blinked in amazement that he knew that, "Next Saturday."

"I think we could allow you to go then, as I'm sure your day trip would be enlightening for the wizarding children, and I'm sure we could trust yourself and Mr Malfoy as Head Boy and Girl to keep everyone well behaved."

She nodded enthusiastically, "Of course Professor."

He smiled at her, "Then next Saturday you shall go. Please come to my office at 10am and you can use my fireplace to floo out. Please ensure that you return by no later than 11pm."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore that would be fantastic!"

He smiled indulgently, "Is there anything else I can do for you today, Miss Granger?"

"No sir, that's wonderful, thank you."

"Then off you go and enjoy your weekend."

She smiled at him as she left, "You too Professor." 

* * *

><p>Draco was pleasantly surprised when he heard Hermione humming as she entered the house a short while later. She'd been frosty and apathetic all week, and he wasn't sure whether to truly trust her newfound cheeriness. He stayed sitting at the kitchen table for a moment, smirking as her humming abruptly stopped when she walked in and saw him.<p>

"Good day, Granger?"

"Yes, thank you. And you?"

He shrugged, "Can't complain, but doesn't look like it was as good as yours. What's got you so happy?"

"Can't I be happy?" She responded defensively.

He sighed inwardly, "Of course you can, I was just curious if there was something in particular that made you so cheerful."

Apparently recognising his genuine attempt at civility, Hermione shrugged, "I'm having a girly night tonight with Ginny and Luna, and I've been planning my birthday next weekend."

Not quite sure what to say, they fell into a slightly awkward silence. Eventually Draco said "Would you like to do some more project stuff before your plans this evening? We haven't done anything all week."

She looked at him sharply, wondering if that was a dig at her moodiness. "That sounds good," she said eventually, "What did you have in mind?"

He shrugged, "We don't really have time for a film, and I'm eating with the boys later so that rules out cooking."

She pulled her folder out of her bag, "We could try a few more of these getting to know you questions?"

He pulled out his own folder, skimming the questions before agreeing. "Shall we just start at the top?"

She nodded, "Three adjectives to describe you. Hmm."

He smirked, "That's easy. I'm intelligent, sexy and loaded."

She frowned, "and modest. I don't think you're just supposed to pick the first three flattering things that come to mind and make you sound amazing, I think you're supposed to actually think about it."

"So you admit I sound amazing?"

"No, I meant..."

He sniggered at her embarrassment, "I know what you meant." He hesitated a moment before saying "I really do think intelligent should be one of mine."

She nodded, writing it down.

Surprised by her lack of objection, he continued, "Self-controlled."

She wrote that down too, trying to think of her own three adjectives. "I think one of mine should be diligent." She frowned at how boring that sounded.

He hesitated, "I think conscientious is a better word."

She looked up at him in surprise before smiling, "I like that better."

There was a moment of silence while she crossed out diligent and replaced it with conscientious before she said "I want intelligent too, even though you said it first".

He chuckled, "It's okay, I doubt the words are rationed".

They sat in silence for a moment, each trying to think of a third adjective to describe them. "I have no idea," Hermione eventually admitted.

Draco shook his head, "Me neither. How am I supposed to sum up my awesomeness in just three words?"

She rolled her eyes, "Your arrogance never fails to amaze me. I know what you're trying to say though, how are we supposed to fit everything that we are, everything that makes us **us**, into three words?"

He frowned at her withering tone but ignored the insult. "No idea. This is a stupid task." Frustrated he aimlessly flicked through the rest of the folder before something caught his eye. "Later on we have to get our friends to make an 'A-Z list' for each of us, and then make lists for each other. Why don't we just put this task on hold until we've done that and pick three words we like from those lists?"

Hermione nodded, glum at the idea of leaving this task unfinished, but aware it made the most sense to wait. "So much for getting some project work done," she said frustratedly.

"What if we start on the lists for each other?"

She looked at him for a moment, "I guess we could. But I still feel like I don't..." she hesitated "know you that well."

He shrugged, "I'm sure we can change words later if we think of better ones, but we could at least make a start. Plus it might be funny to see how the words change the longer we live together."

She smiled at that, "I guess so."

She quickly grabbed some parchment and wrote the letters A-Z down the side, discreetly watching Draco as he did the same. What did she know about him? The easiest way to start with her list seemed to be to use he two words he'd picked, so she quickly added those in. What else did she know about him? Well, he's arrogant, and a bully, and rude and prejudiced...She sighed. Somehow she suspected she was supposed to pick at least neutral words rather than 26 insults. Plus, she knew that he wasn't necessarily all of those things now, even though he had been in the past. She tried to imagine what she would think of him now, if she hadn't known him before this year. She risked a look at him again trying to imagine what her first impressions would be. She blushed at her first thought; that he was attractive. No way she was putting that on the list! _He's very...classy_, she thought, _I could put something like sophisticated? _She sighed as she realised S was one of only two letters she already had a word for. _What were the odds of that? Hmm, another word for sophisticated...refined! _She added that to the list, still thinking about first impressions. _He's very well-spoken most of the time, especially compared to the rest of the boys in our year. Maybe his whole family are that way, she mused, elocution lessons as a kid seems like a Malfoy sort of thing_. She smiled at the image of a young Draco learning to speak clearly while other boys played football, but then realised the image made her a little sad too. _Regardless of whether it's a family trait, it is something I would notice I think, and even after years at school he still doesn't swear in every sentence like half our year do._ Decided, she added articulate to her list.

She frowned to herself slightly, admitted mentally that he'd been a surprisingly good acquaintance-friend (she still wasn't quite sure what to call him) since the start of the year, and that his friendship with Pansy seemed to have made him good with temperamental girls. But how could she fit that onto the list? Eventually she added good listener, frowning slightly because it felt a little like cheating, and perceptive, because it unnerved her sometimes how much he saw. 

* * *

><p>Draco frowned at his still blank piece of parchment. <em>I don't know anything about her, what the hell am I supposed to put?! <em>Deciding to start with the easiest bit, he added her two chosen words, conscientious and intelligent. _What else do I know about her? Teacher's pet but I can't really put that, would definitely break our temporary truce. _He added reliable to the list instead, thinking that that seemed safe enough. _All I ever see her do is wave her hand in class, read, and hang around with Weasley and Potter. _He hesitated as an obvious word came to mind and added bookworm. Not sure whether she'd be offended, he crossed it out and added booklover instead. He quickly added good friend – Merlin knows he wouldn't be able to put up with Potter and Weasley for more than five minutes. 

* * *

><p>Hermione kept coming back to Draco's arrogance which threw her off her train of thought (and her desire to be inoffensive). Even more frustratingly, the more time she spent with him, the more she thought maybe he wasn't being arrogant. Sometimes his flippant comments seemed almost more like he was laughing at himself, something she just couldn't reconcile with her image of him. The rest of the time his comments sounded like pretty much every other teenage boy trying to highlight his achievements. She thought about adding confident, but it didn't feel quite right. She frowned, thinking that self-assured felt like a better fit. But then she came back to the fact S was already filled. Decisively she crossed out self-controlled, adding self-assured in its place. Now she needed to find a new word for self-controlled. It was hard to replace when she didn't know exactly what he meant by it, but she added disciplined. Hesitantly she also added temperate, wondering if he'd meant self-controlled in terms of temper – she'd noticed his apparent calm this year and pretty even moods. She could always change it later.<p>

She looked up at him once again, embarrassed when he looked up and caught her staring. She blushed be only smirked and went back to his parchment. She frowned a moment more before adding hard-working and logical to the list. Loathe as she was to admit it, he seemed to have been willing to work just as hard as she had on the project, and his logical mind had helped them to be efficient. One more word popped into her head, and she hesitated a moment before adding it (with a small proviso). She skimmed her list to see if she'd reached her goal of ten words yet and smiled feeling pleased with herself. 

* * *

><p>Draco looked at Hermione, biting her lip and desperately trying to fill her alphabet. He added kind and fair to his list, because he knew she'd be trying to think of nice things to say about him, despite the fact he'd been a jerk up until the last month or so. He added honest too because, smiling wryly to himself, he knew if she really couldn't think of anything nice to say, she wouldn't lie and pretend she could. He decided to take a step back and think about Hermione Granger as a whole person, not just the version he saw right in front of him.<p>

He laughed as his most predominant memory of her before this year came to mind – her punching him during their third year. He thought about adding violent to his list as a joke but resisted the urge. If he concentrated, he thought he remembered that she'd been sticking up for someone at the time - Hagrid maybe? He quickly added loyal, then came to a stand-still once more.

_Think, think, think. Six years at school together, I must have other memories of her._ The image of her and Viktor Krum at The Yule Ball popped into his head before he could stop it, and he embarrassedly tried to ignore it. Unfortunately, her brain kept trying to come back to it, so he tried to force himself to think of a non-physical trait to pick out of the memory. Being friends with Pansy, he'd been informed quickly enough that Granger apparently chose Krum as revenge. A lot of work and a lot of planning had probably gone into that revenge – an almost Slytherin move. Eventually he settled on determined and shrewd, although he knew she might not like that last one. He tried to think of another memory and almost sniggered aloud as he remembered the House Elf campaign. He'd just added opinionated to his list when her voice broke him from his thoughts.

"How are you getting on?" She asked.

He glanced up at her before skimming over his list. "11 words," he responded quietly, quite surprised with how far he'd gotten already. "You?"

She smiled, clearly surprised as well. "11 words as well! Do you want to switch lists?"

He looked down at his again, "I don't know," he admitted.

She quickly looked through her own list, realising that although they were getting to know each other, they were largely basing their words on superficial impressions. What if all of his were offensive? She frowned completely undecided.

"What if we switch, just quickly, but we don't discuss them?"

She frowned, "But then what's the point in switching?"

He shrugged, "We can't see how they change if we don't see the original versions."

She nodded and nervously passed over her parchment.

She skimmed the list he handed her, reasonably pleased with some of the words. Booklover, conscientious, determined, fair, good friend, honest, intelligent, loyal, opinionated, reliable, shrewd.

Shrewd? She frowned and opened her mouth to ask him what that was supposed to mean, but he laughed before she could ask and said "We agreed we wouldn't discuss it remember Granger?". 

* * *

><p>Draco wasn't honestly sure what to make of the list Hermione had handed him: articulate, charismatic (when he wants to be), disciplined, good listener, hard-working, intelligent, logical, perceptive, refined, self-assured and temperate.<p>

He liked the idea of being articulate, charismatic and refined, but wasn't quite so keen on being a good listener. Sure he could be, but it wasn't exactly a masculine trait was it? Thinking about it, neither was temperate! He frowned, wondering if he'd been a bit **too** civilised, wondering if maybe he was losing his sexy edge (Merlin forbid!). 

* * *

><p>Both Hermione and Draco sat in silence for a moment, trying to digest their lists, before Draco pushed his back across the table to Hermione. "I guess we'd better go and get ready," he said finally.<p>

Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see she had only an hour before Ginny and Luna were due to arrive. "I guess so," she agreed. "What are you doing tonight anyway?" She asked curiously, her mind still partially on her list.

For a moment he looked surprised that she'd asked. "I'm going to Blaise's", he said eventually, "Theo, Blaise and I are just going to drink beer, eat pizza and hang out."

"That sounds nice," Hermione smiled, trying to picture the sophisticated Draco Malfoy drinking a beer and eating pizza, "pretty similar to what we're doing really, wine, food and boy talk."

She blushed furiously when she realised what she'd said, "Boy talk?" he asked smoothly.

"Not for me," she stammered, "for Ginny."

"Ginny Weasley, who's been in a relationship with The Boy Who Wouldn't Die for just about forever, wants to talk about boys?"

Hermione tried to backpedal, realising that in trying to save her own face she may have dropped Ginny in it.

"No of course not," she said trying to sound dismissive, "she just likes to gossip, and tell us the latest in who fancies who."

"So you don't have any crazy crushes to tell them about?" He said looking at her closely, "no burning desires to talk about?"

She blushed but stood her ground, "That's for me to know and you to wonder," she said, trying to sound confident as she made a hasty escape.


	14. I am waiting, for what, I don't know

Hermione smilingly opened the door to Ginny and Luna a short while later. Ginny and Luna sat at the kitchen table and chatted as Hermione grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured them each a glass.

"Where's Malfoy?" Ginny asked curiously.

"He had a date Blaise and Theo that involved beer and pizza apparently," Hermione laughed still not quite able to picture the blonde lounging around with greasy food.

Ginny looked at Hermione carefully but didn't say anything further about it.

"Pizza sounds good," Luna said distractedly.

Ginny and Hermione laughed. "What do you want to eat?" Hermione asked them.

Ginny shrugged, "As long as there can be lots of snacks, I don't care about the real food, you know me, I eat anything."

Luna smiled, "I don't mind, you choose Hermione."

Hermione wandered over to the fridge, unsure what to have and hoping the fridge would just stock itself with something nice. She wasn't surprised to open the fridge and find pizza and garlic bread. She laughed, "Apparently, we're having pizza too.".

She flicked on the oven and stuck everything on baking trays to wait for the oven to heat up. Rummaging in the cupboard for some snacks to keep Ginny happy, she found a big bag of crisps and some dips in the fridge. She set them on the table and sat down with her wine, feeling very content.

"So, how are you both? How are your housemates?" she asked curiously.

"Blaise seems very nice," Luna said serenely, "although I don't really see him much."

"Damn," Ginny said jokingly. "Although, he is kinda good looking..."

Luna smiled dreamily, "That's true. I bumped into him as he was coming out of the bathroom yesterday, and all he had on was a towel..."

"What a shame you had to see that," she said sarcastically.

"Oh no, I didn't mind," Luna said sincerely, "as you said, he is rather good looking."

Hermione nearly choked on her wine she was so surprised. She'd begun to assume Luna wasn't especially interested in men, but the slightly predatory glint in Luna's eyes had her questioning that.

Ginny giggled delightedly, but Hermione couldn't help but worry for the Ravenclaw.

"Be careful, Luna," Hermione said carefully, "Blaise is a bit of a..." she paused trying to think of a delicate way to put it.

"Man whore?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I wouldn't have worded it quite like that but yes."

Luna only smiled, "Don't worry, Hermione."

Hermione didn't feel particularly reassured, and was about to say something further when the oven beeped to tell her it was hot enough. She got up to slide the trays into the oven and when she got back to the table Ginny and Luna had moved on to talking about other housemate pairings.

"My bet is on Ron and Hannah," Ginny sniggered.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, slightly bemused.

"To be the first to either ask to switch partners or for one to end up in the Hospital Wing."

Hermione laughed, "What about poor Neville, he's stuck with Millicent Bulstrode?"

Luna smiled, "I think you're both wrong."

They both looked at her, curious to see who she'd nominate. "I had thought it might be you and Draco," Luna admitted to Hermione, "but you seem to be getting on okay so I think it'll be Lavender and Zacharias Smith."

Hermione and Ginny both groaned, "You're so right," Ginny agreed, "they're both completely annoying, why didn't I think of that?!"

Hermione laughed, "Maybe they'll get on well together. They'd certainly deserve each other."

They all thought about it for a moment before they cracked up.

An hour or so later, when the girls had moved into the living room with a peach champagne cocktail of Ginny's concoction, the probing began.

"So, boy problems huh?" Ginny asked, straight to the point as usual.

"No no," Hermione assured Ginny hastily, "nothing like that."

Ginny raised her eyebrows sceptically. "It's one of the Slytherins isn't it?"

"What?" Hermione just about managed not to spit her cocktail everywhere, but she could feel herself reddening.

"Oh come on, Hermione! I might not be as smart as you but I'm not stupid. It's definitely not going to be Ron, or Harry, so that pretty much leaves the Slytherins."

"Or Neville," Ginny pointed out dreamily.

Hermione and Ginny shared a glance that said it most definitely would not have been Neville.

"If it was Neville there'd be no reason for her to hide it," Ginny said tactfully.

"It's no one Gin, honestly."

"Okay fine, if you don't want to tell us who, you can at least tell us what the problem is." Ginny said reasonably.

Hermione hesitated.

"Just one thing," Ginny added looking uncomfortable. "It's not Harry right?"

"No, of course not Gin, he's like my brother. Plus, you know he's...well, yours."

Ginny laughed bitterly, "I don't think so right now."

Luna patted her arm sympathetically, "You'll work it out,".

Hermione wasn't sure how much the Ravenclaw knew about the nature of Ginny and Harry's fight, so she said carefully, "I'd never...with someone my friend liked."

Ginny smiled weakly, obviously understanding what Hermione was trying to say.

"So what's the story?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shrugged, not honestly sure where to start or even if she should. "I don't know. Sometimes I think there's something there, but most of the time..." she laughed, "I just have no idea what's going on."

Ginny frowned, obviously trying to figure out how to word her next question.

"Well, has anything happened?" Luna asked, obviously not feeling the need to tiptoe around the subject.

Hermione could literally feel her face flame. "We kissed," she admitted, "but only once."

"Well," Ginny laughed, "that sounds pretty positive!"

"What are you waiting for?" Luna asked her.

Hermione hesitated, really trying to figure out the right answer. Was it because she didn't like Draco? She could admit to herself that wasn't it. Was it because she was scared of how her friends would react if something happened? Well yes, of course, but she knew that she could keep it from them, and only tell them if it was serious – and if that was the case they'd get over it eventually. Hermione sighed, because she knew what the reason was, and she knew what they'd say about it.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "What if I've got the wrong end of the stick? Or what if...what if he hasn't really changed, and this is some kind of prank? Or what if I make a total fool of myself?"

Ginny and Luna smiled at her sympathetically. "We're not saying you should seduce him Hermione! What was the advice you gave the other day? Get to know each other a bit, see how it goes, and hold the outright confessions in reserve as a plan for later?"

Hermione moaned, knowing full-well that was what the girls would say. "I suppose that's an okay plan," she agreed grudgingly, internally thinking she'd never dare say anything outright. As the conversation blessedly moved on to other topics, she privately vowed to herself that she'd never tell the girls anything more about her and Draco's confused and unstable relationship.

* * *

><p>On Friday evening, Hermione and Draco were baffled to be called to a meeting in Dumbledore's office. They headed to the Headmaster's Office in silence, sharing a baffled glance when they saw who was in attendance. They sat down nervously and waited.<p>

"So it seems that Mr Malfoy has been somewhat...changed, by his years in Azkaban," Dumbledore began, surprising everyone he'd called to the meeting. Madam Pomfrey, the heads of houses and the Head Girl and Boy looked at Dumbledore as if he'd finally lost it. "Lucius came to see me following his release from Azkaban," he explained, "It seems that he owed a debt to Rodolphus Lestrange, and agreed to consider doing him a favour in exchange for a Wizard's Oath to leave the Malfoy family alone."

He paused, continuing when it was clear that no one would comment. "This favour involved passing a message to Bellatrix, that the 'gift' they'd planned to send to me and Hogwarts had been sent. Lucius has no idea what this gift was, or how Rodolphus managed to send it from inside an Azkaban cell - he made it explicitly clear that he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the scenario, but felt 'compelled' to tell me."

No one was more confused by this than Draco, who could not even remotely reconcile the overbearing father he remembered from the Death Eater days with this guilt-feeling man who attempted to protect his family. Shaking off the strangeness of the scenario, and the worry/hope that his father may have truly changed whilst in Azkaban, he vaguely wondered what all this had to do with them. Clearly the other teachers felt the same as everyone looked confused.

"From the little Rodolphus' message said, I have a few suspicions as to what this 'gift' may be, and I urge you, **all** of you," he said firmly, looking at the head students in particular, "to keep an eye out for...unusual behaviour amongst the students. I don't mean merely teenage mood swings or not handing in homework, I mean serious, prolonged alterations in demeanour. If you do notice anything, I urge you, very strongly, to come to me as soon as possible."

Draco and Hermione exchanged a confused look, both disregarding a tiny speck of concern, but said nothing.

"Sir, won't you tell us..?"

"No, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said firmly, "I will not tell you what I suspect. Firstly, I do not want to blind you to other ideas that may be equally valid. Secondly," he gave Hermione a knowing look, "keeping an eye out for unusual behaviour will not take up much of your time. If I were to tell you what I suspect, you would, inevitably, search for information on it, which would detract from your studies. Not only would this impact your grades, which is simply unaffordable at NEWT level, but knowing yourself, Mister Potter and Mister Weasley rather well - if I may say so - I also know the three of you would be likely to try to tackle the issue yourselves." His eyes twinkled with amusement as he looked at Draco. "Possibly with some of your new acquaintances,". Draco scowled, that was such a Gryffindor thing to do - of course he wouldn't go searching for trouble.

"Now," Professor Dumbledore said, "that is all I wanted to mention, so why don't you head down and have some dinner. Minerva, Severus a moment please."

Clearly dismissed the two head students left, wondering what on earth Dumbledore suspected.

Sighing as he watched the students retreat, Dumbledore sat behind his desk, gesturing for the heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin to sit as well.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore seemed to hesitate a moment before saying heavily, "I believe the 'gift' that the Lestranges have sent to Hogwarts, to be the <em>vitia capitalia quae<em>."

McGonagall gasped and even Snape seemed surprised. "How on earth did you figure that out?" he asked bluntly.

"Rodolphus' message to Lucius said that Bellatrix would "enjoying seeing the 'sins of youth' run wild", and that he "wasn't sure who the gift would reach but that he was sure it would be someone 'appropriate'."  
>Snape frowned, "That doesn't necessarily mean..."<br>Dumbledore sighed, "Lucius also heard Bellatrix ranting that "they haven't done anything, except encourage the students' baser instincts."  
>Snape swallowed the bile he felt rising in his throat at her callousness, admitting that it did indeed sound like the <em><em>vitia capitalia quae<em>_.

"What can we do?" McGonagall asked, looking at Dumbledore searchingly.  
>Dumbledore stared at her for a moment, before saying finally, "Nothing." He stroked Fawkes' head sadly before continuing. "If it is indeed the <em><em>vitia capitalia quae<em>_ - which I confess I strongly feel that it is - we have no idea who it will reach, or how it will manifest. For now all we can do is wait, and hope that we can find whoever it reaches before they hurt themselves or others."


	15. Blame it on my biology

On Saturday morning, Hermione decided it was about time she tried to organise her birthday. She'd been putting it off, hoping things between Harry, Ginny and Pansy might become a bit less weird first, but so far no luck. As far as she could see Harry was avoiding Ginny like the plague, and if she didn't do something about it, their behaviour would make everyone uncomfortable for her birthday – assuming they even went.

She debated just going ahead and trying to organise everything without discussing it with Draco first, since he seemed strangely off with her, but they needed somewhere to meet, and it was a bit rude to invite everyone without at least warning him.

She pushed herself off her bed, and went out into the corridor, knocking on Draco's door before she had a chance to wimp out.

"Come in," he shouted.

Hermione opened the door, closing it behind her but hovering anxiously near it. Malfoy was sprawled out on his bed, book in hand. She didn't quite know what to make of this new casual – and yet somehow still strangely graceful – Malfoy, and she hovered anxiously near the door.

She hesitated a moment before deciding the easiest way would be to jump right in. "It's my birthday on Saturday, and Dumbledore's agreed to give permission for us to go off school grounds, to go to a theme park."

"The place with the – what was it? – trains that do loops?"

"Right," she nodded. "Anyways I was going to invite everyone from the other night, but...well, no one's really seen each other since. I mean obviously I've seen you and Ginny and Luna, and you've seen Blaise and Theo but the two groups haven't really mixed much and..."

"And you think it'll be weird."

She smiled, relieved that he understood. "Well, things were a little...unusual last time everyone hung out. I mean it's not like people were behaving in their usual ways..."

He nodded thoughtfully. "So you want to get everyone together in a less uninhibited state between now and then?"

She nodded, "Exactly. I haven't even seen everyone to invite them yet, and a note feels a bit...cowardly."

"Okay...you don't need my permission though, Granger."

She tried to ignore the sinking in her stomach as he referred to her by surname. "I just thought it would be polite to let you know, since I planned to invite everyone over here." She said stiffy.

Draco sighed inwardly, knowing he'd screwed up. "That's fine, thank you. When are you inviting them?"

"I thought I'd invite them over tonight, discuss next weekend, maybe have some junk food and a bit of a chill out?"

"That sounds good," he said.

She turned to leave, not sure what else to say. Just as she tugged on the door, Malfoy spoke again. "So your birthday itself – it's Saturday?"

"Mmm hmm. Why?"

He shrugged, turning back to his book, "Just curious."

As soon as the door was shut, he scribbled a note to Pansy, knowing she'd discuss it with the youngest Weasley.

_Pans,_

_Granger's inviting everyone to ours later. Can you and the Youngest Weasley figure out a way for the rest of us to discreetly have a conversation without her (Granger, not Weasley) afterwards?_

_Thanks,  
>D<em>

Note sent and mission accomplished, he settled back with his book. He'd been so busy with other things, he'd completely forgotten about the reading assignment, but he'd finally picked it up, and he'd just got to the scene with Gollum and the riddles. Not even scheming was a good enough excuse to put the book down.

* * *

><p>As Hermione trudged up to the Owlery, she realised what a pain it was not having an owl. She could have probably borrowed Malfoy's but she didn't want to go asking for any more favours already. She'd have just gone round to everyone's houses and asked except of course the she hadn't been to most of them and thanks to the Fidelius charm she couldn't just go looking for them.<p>

She sighed as she tied note after note onto owls. At least this way meant people would get their invitations at once, she mused, rather than having one owl do all the work. But still, she wasn't exactly looking forward to the walk back. She tugged her sleeves down over her hands and headed back towards the house, wandering just what she needed to do for tonight.

* * *

><p>When Draco went downstairs a few hours later in search of food, Hermione was humming away in the kitchen, surrounded by ingredients.<p>

He helped himself to various sandwich ingredients, watching idly as she began to knead something. "What are you making?" He asked eventually.

"I'm making pizzas," she announced happily. "I figured people probably wouldn't eat before they came, since they're coming here quite early. I thought I'd make up some food, and that way if people are hungry they can eat, and if not we can just eat them later in the week." She realised she was babbling and forced herself to stop.

Draco made his sandwich in silence, saying nothing as she put the dough in a bowl and covered it with what looked like a damp tea towel. He tried to think of a way to broach the awkwardness between them, but he couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't make them both uncomfortable, so he decided to stick to the safer topic at hand – the pizzas.

"Is it difficult?"

"To make pizzas? No, I don't think so. It's my first time making the dough myself though, so it might be."

"Do you need any help?"

She immediately went to dismiss his offer, but instead decided to put him on the spot a little, the way he always did to her. "Would you like to help?"

He shrugged, but nonetheless he swallowed a bite of his sandwich and said "So what do we do next?"

She fought back a smile at the fact he'd completely sidestepped her question. "Well," she said, consulting her recipe, "The dough apparently needs an hour to rise, so we've got some time. I was thinking of making some cookies and things?"

He grinned, "I could eat cookies."

She laughed, "How about..."She flicked through the recipe book, "chocolate and oat cookies, and some seriously indulgent chocolate brownies?"

"They could work," he said, pretending to be nonchalant about the treats, "What do we do?"

She looked over the two recipes quickly. "I think we'll start with the cookies, they look easier. Can you weigh out the flour and oats and add the baking powder, while I cream the butter and the sugar?"

She quickly zapped the chocolate in the microwave – that she could have sworn had never been there before – to melt it, and pre-heated the oven. As she creamed the butter and sugar while she waited, she couldn't resist asking, "Did we have a microwave this morning?"

"The thing that's lit up? I genuinely have no idea what that is or what it's doing, but I'm pretty sure it's new."

"Hmm," she grabbed an egg, adding it to the sugar and butter. "I wonder if the kitchen equipment is like the fridge. If we decided to make ice cream tomorrow, would an ice cream machine show up in one of the cupboards? And if it did, would it disappear again once we were finished with it?"

He looked at her, chuckling softly. "You grew up believing magic didn't exist. Since then, you've found out magic is real, moved to a school for witches and wizards, become best friends with The Boy Who Wouldn't Die, fought a war and moved into a house with your former enemy – and this is only a snapshot of the last seven years – and you're amazed by appearing kitchen equipment?"

She shrugged self-consciously. "For a lot of that, I didn't really have time to think about it, but magic just amazes me sometimes."

He said nothing to that, just stepped out of the way as she added her egg mixture and chocolate to the oats. He stirred the ingredients as she grabbed a baking tray.

"The next bit is my least favourite," she admitted. "We have to roll them into little balls and put them on the tray."

He looked at her warily, "So why don't you like this bit?"

She shrugged a bit self-consciously, "I have long nails, and I hate the way it feels when all the slimy ingredients get underneath them."

He rolled his eyes. "Women." He began rolling out the balls, letting her check the size before he put them on the tray. Once he'd got a few right, she headed off to sort out the ingredients for the brownies.

By the time he was finished, Hermione had melted the chocolate and butter and was adding flour and sugar. He bit back a laugh as he caught a glimpse of her face when she spoke, "I think we should wait and put the cookies in later, serve them fresh out of the oven." She looked at him to see what he thought, stopping abruptly when she saw his face. "What?" She said indignantly.

"You have flour on your face," he said as neutrally as he could.

She rubbed at her cheek self-consciously – the wrong one.

He gave in and laughed, "The other cheek. Higher, no."

He sighed, reaching over to wipe it off himself. He rubbed the offending flour of gently, and found himself looking down at her, all sense of laughter gone.

He swallowed, stepping back deliberately to put some space between them.

Hermione bit her tongue as Draco stepped back, unsure whether to be furious with him or mortified. Just then, she'd been sure he felt something between them the same way she did, some invisible spark that refused to be ignored. And yet, if he had felt it, he **was** ignoring it.

She forced her mind back to the task at hand. "The recipe just wants us to add marshmallows, but I'm not sure that's indulgent enough."

He grinned, "I agree. How about more chocolate?"

"I could always eat more chocolate," she laughed, "Blame it on being a girl."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "I could always eat more chocolate, and I'm definitely not a girl!"

She laughed, adding milk, white and dark chocolate drops to the batter.

* * *

><p>An hour or so later, when the pizzas, cookies and brownies sat on the side ready to go in the oven, Draco and Hermione sat down to relax.<p>

They talked about random things for a while, before Hermione couldn't take it anymore. "Are we ever going to talk about things?"

Draco looked at her in surprise. "I wasn't sure what there was to say," he replied carefully.

Hermione fought back the hurt. "If it meant nothing, then say it meant nothing, and we'll put it behind us."

There was a long, heavy silence before Draco finally spoke. "I didn't say it meant nothing," he said quietly.

She waited to see if he'd say more, but he didn't, so she couldn't resist pushing. "So what did it mean?"

"I've no idea," he snapped. "Okay? It was meant to mean nothing, but then somehow it didn't and now I have no idea what it means. Damn it Granger, but there was never supposed to be anything but hatred between us, and now I've no idea what we are."

She didn't quite know what to say to that. Eventually she said quietly, "I have no idea what we are either, but I didn't ask for it either you know."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I know. I'm just still adapting to being friendly with all you Gryffindors, let alone anything else."

Hermione tried to ignore the furious battle that was going on in her head, between hope – he said anything else, so he does feel something – and disappointment – he doesn't want anything else. "So maybe we should just try being friends," she suggested.

He looked at her in silence for a moment before nodding. Friends didn't sound so bad – if he could just stop thinking about kissing her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **As always my recipes were BBC inspired! On the BBC Good food website, the recipes used for inspiration were homemade pizza, Chocolate chip oat cookies and marshmallow brownies.


	16. Say Hello

Ginny sat on her bed, watching Arnold bounce around the floor like a fluffy purple ball. He was humming as he always did when he was happy, and as always, Ginny couldn't help but feel a little cheered watching her pet. She glanced at the clock again, knowing she couldn't put it off much longer – she was due at Hermione's in ten minutes, so the time when she'd need to leave the relative safety of her room was rapidly approaching.

She stood up and gave herself a once over in the mirror, appreciating the confidence boost her newfound love for skinny jeans was giving her. Of course she knew she'd have to face both Pansy and Harry eventually, but she'd been quite enjoying hiding as much as possible since The Incident. She was going to have to face it head on tonight though, as Harry would definitely be at Hermione's, and she assumed Pansy would have been invited too. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that relationship drama was not the scariest thing she'd had to face – after all, she'd ridden a dragon over the summer when she went to visit Charlie! Comforted by that thought, she opened the door and started down the stairs, head held high.

When she reached the front door, she hesitated a moment – should she go looking for Pansy? If Pansy **had** been invited, it would be blatantly rude for Ginny to go without asking her, but it would also be downright awkward. She sighed and headed into the kitchen, deciding that she'd (quietly) look around downstairs, and if Pansy happened to be there she'd ask if she was going and if not she'd just leave and make some excuse later.

She found her in the kitchen, sitting at the bar.

Pansy turned to face her. "Hi", she smiled.

"Hi," Ginny said back, trying to be cheerful and wincing internally as she heard the stiffness in her voice.

Pansy's smile didn't falter; if anything it seemed more fixed. "Are you going to Draco and Hermione's?" she asked casually.

Ginny nodded, noting absently how funny it was that she thought of the house as Hermione's first and Draco's second, though Pansy thought of it the other way around. "Are you?" Ginny asked, trying to seem casual.

"Yep," Pansy nodded. "Do you want to walk together?"

Ginny only hesitated for a second. "Sure," she agreed.

Pansy stood up, "Just let me grab my jacket".

The two walked in silence for a minute or so before Pansy spoke. "So, Draco sent me a note," she began, "asking if you and I could figure out a way to get rid of Granger for a bit after whatever she's got planned."

Ginny looked at her in confusion, the awkwardness brushed away by curiosity. "Why?"

"I was hoping you might know," Pansy laughed.

Ginny frowned, thinking to herself as they kept walking. "Well, what would we all have to talk about that we wouldn't be able to talk about in front of Hermione?"

Pansy laughed, "Some kind of serious rule breaking?"

Ginny laughed too, "Possible, but if Malfoy had rule breaking planned why would he want all of us involved? Surely it'd be a Slytherin only sort of plot?"

Pansy shrugged, "Yeah, I couldn't make that add up either, it's just all I could think of."

"It's Hermione's birthday soon." Ginny offered, sounding sceptical. "I kinda wandered if that's what she wanted us to meet about tonight. And I guess we wouldn't want to talk about gifts or whatever in front of her. But is Malfoy really going to want to talk about gift ideas?" She pulled a face to show how believable she found that idea.

Pansy shrugged, "Draco's a bit strange. He quite likes shopping, even gift shopping, so if they're getting along, it wouldn't surprise me. And," she grinned slyly, "they definitely seem to be getting along."

Ginny looked at her in surprise for a second. "You think…? Hermione and Malfoy? No way!"

Pansy shrugged, "Maybe not," she agreed, "But they're definitely seeming friendly enough, and I can see Draco going for her?"

Ginny snorted, "Oh? Isn't his type a little….easier?"

Pansy frowned, "You might be surprised by people's types. Sure for a party or whatever Draco's type is exactly what you'd expect, but for an actual relationship….From what I've seen, I think they'd match pretty well."

Ginny shook her head, "I'm still not seeing it," she disagreed. "But anyway, how are we going to distract Hermione for this mysterious plotting?"

* * *

><p>Hermione watched nervously as people began to arrive and mingle in the kitchen. Blaise and Luna seemed to have a debate over the correct type of pizza to eat, but Blaise was grinning so that seemed all okay. Theo, Daphne and Tracey stood at one end of the table, and – Hermione almost did a double take – at the other end, stood Harry, Ron, and Draco. She blinked at the strange sight in confusion for a second. They'd gotten along well enough at the after party certainly, but she hadn't expected things to be quite that easy. She looked at them in surprise, fairly certain that their civilized behaviour was largely thanks to both Draco and Harry making an effort on her behalf, and for a moment she just people-watched, feeling very fond of her friends.<p>

When the doorbell rang, she headed off to open it, smiling at Pansy and Ginny as they came in. The girls were still not looking completely natural – Hermione noticed they were managing to keep at least a foot of space between them at all times – but Hermione was relieved to see that both were smiling.

The girls walked back to the kitchen, and Pansy headed towards Blaise and Luna, while Ginny, rather nervously, headed towards Ron, Harry and Draco. Hermione went with Ginny, both slightly worried about Harry's reaction and also curious to see the boys in conversation.

"Hi Hermione, Ginny," Harry said, seeming cheerful and civilized, though not his usual touchy self with Ginny.

Ginny smiled, "Hi," she waved slightly at the boys.

Hermione let out a small sigh of relief, and rushed to fill the silence that was beginning to form. "Is there enough pizza? We made more, I could go and put a few more in the oven?".

"We?" Ron asked grinning.

Draco threw Hermione a dirty look, and Hermione inwardly cursed her mouth's ability to run away with her sometimes.

"Yes, we," Draco drawled, seemingly unembarrassed. "Have you done any of **your** cooking tasks yet?"

Hermione grinned at the way Draco managed to make it sound like they'd been working rather than having fun, turning the attention back to Ron and away from himself cooking.

Ron shook his head, "I think me and Hannah have maybe said about 5 words to each other so far?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You'll get a terrible grade with that attitude!"

Everyone laughed at Hermione's typical focus on the marks.

* * *

><p>A little while later, once everyone had eaten their fill of pizza and cookies – although the boys were still eating more anyways – the group spread around the kitchen table.<p>

"So," Ginny asked curiously, "What's the deal Hermione?"

"Well, as it's my birthday on Saturday," Hermione began, "And I wanted to do something interesting for it, so I spoke to Professor Dumbledore, and he agreed to give us permission to go off the grounds for the day so that we could go to Thorpe Park."

"Awesome!" Harry grinned.

Everyone else looked mostly confused.

"What's Thorpe Park?"

Hermione and Harry looked at each other. "I've tried to explain it to Draco twice now, and I'm still not sure it's making much sense," Hermione confessed.

Harry frowned, "It's a theme park, so it has rides in it – machines you sit on that go high up or do loops or go really fast or sometimes get you soaking wet."

The others still looked pretty blank and Harry and Hermione shared a frustrated look. "It's a muggle thing," Hermione said eventually, "and Dumbledore thought it could be educational for you guys, as well as just fun for the rest of us."

Blaise shrugged, "I don't really get it, but I'll give it a go."

To Hermione's relief, everyone seemed pretty keen to give it a go, even though they didn't really know what they were getting themselves into.

"We can floo out from Dumbledore's office at 10" Hermione informed them, "and we have to be back by 11. The park closes at 6 anyways though, so if we want to stay out later we'll have to think of something to do in that gap?"

Harry shrugged, "Pub maybe? We'll think of something."

Hermione nodded. "Anyways," she continued, "obviously as it's a Muggle place, we can't use magic at all for the day! We shouldn't really need to take anything with us except money – which we'll have to figure out between now and then - and remember whatever you do take you'll have to carry all day. Girls, it'll be easier for you if you wear trousers or shorts and trainers, because loose shoes either come off or you have to carry them."

The girls looked at her bemused, but Ginny nodded. "If you say so Hermione."

They chatted a little more about plans for the weekend, before Ginny made a point of asking Hermione if they could 'have a chat' upstairs. Ginny winked at Draco as Hermione led the way upstairs, seeming slightly confused but nonetheless willing to go along.

* * *

><p><em><em><em><em>[The Lottery Competition - 4 (Dragon), 17 (Face it Head On), 18 (High), 20 (Time) and 30 (Pet)]<em>___

____[The Pokemon Challenge]____


	17. The Crucial Curve

Ginny looked around Hermione's room in surprise. "I didn't think you even liked pink!"

Hermione shrugged, "I thought I'd try something different. I'm pretty sure the house will change it again for me when I eventually get bored, but for now I fancied something a bit bold."

"I can see that!" Ginny said, throwing herself onto Hermione's bed and running her hands over the raspberry cover.

Hermione walked around to the other side and sat at the top of the bed, leaning against the headboard and waiting for Ginny to start. When the redhead said nothing, Hermione nudged her with her foot. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Ginny's mind whirred frantically, trying to think of something to say aside from her obvious relationship dramas, which she really did not want to get into.

"I just don't get to see you as much this year," Ginny said finally. "I know we've seen lots of each other still, but it's not the same as when we're all just hanging out in the common room every night."

Hermione nodded, "That's true. I have to admit though, I like having my own space sometimes too!"

Ginny laughed at that. "I bet you do – you can read in peace!"

Hermione grinned, "Well, that is an advantage!"

"And the shower isn't full of all the girls' toiletries," Ginny teased.

Hermione laughed, "That's true, though Malfoy has a fair few bottles of his own."

Ginny raised an eyebrow and pretended to be offended, "So you're happy to share precious shower space with Malfoy of all people?! Okay, I realise that sounded a bit weird, but you know what I mean," she defended as Hermione giggled. "Space for shampoo bottles and things. Unless of course you ARE sharing showers with him?" she teased, turning the tables and laughing at Hermione's horrified face.

"Of course not!" Hermione protested, her face scarlet.

Ginny sniggered, "Relax Hermione, I was only teasing. He IS pretty hot though," she said casually, wondering if there could be any truth to Pansy's wild theory about Malfoy and Hermione.

Hermione shrugged, "I guess," she said noncommittally, and her face was still so red from the sharing showers comment Ginny couldn't really take any meaning from it.

Frowning slightly and wishing she could think of a sly way to probe, Ginny moved the conversation on. "What do you want for your birthday anyway?"

Hermione scooted to stare up at the ceiling. "I honestly have no idea," she sighed.

"Books?" Ginny suggested, "Stationery? Clothes?"

Hermione shrugged. "I already have so many books – the bookshelves downstairs seem to be full of all sorts of books I want to read but haven't yet. Stationery is always good I guess. Clothes…." She shrugged, "I guess I could always do with more, since hanging around the house so much means I'm not wearing robes over everything as often, but my mum bought loads over the summer, so I don't really need any."

"Well don't you just sound thrilled with those ideas?" Ginny asked dryly. "What about something fun instead of practical? How about a pet, you don't have an owl yet? That could be useful AND kinda fun."

Hermione mulled the idea over in her mind, "That's not a bad idea," she agreed. "I never really thought about having an owl, since I had Crookshanks and all, but since he and your mum seem to have bonded so well, especially since the last battle… Well anyway, now that he's staying at the Borrow…"

Ginny patted Hermione's knee comfortingly. "It was really nice of you to leave him with mum," she said quietly, "I know she appreciates having him around."

Hermione forced a smile, "And he appreciates getting to chase the gnomes!"

* * *

><p>While Ginny and Hermione discussed cats, shower space and birthday ideas, Draco tried to discreetly broach the subject of birthday ideas with the others too.<p>

"So what are you going to buy her for her birthday?" he asked Harry, trying to sound casual.

Harry groaned, "I have no idea! And whatever I get, I'm going to have to order it now, unless I'm going to sneak into Hogsmeade somehow before Saturday!"

Draco gave him a curious look, "Even though Dumbledore knows how you're getting into Hogsmeade, he hasn't stopped you?"

Harry shrugged, "He never has in the past, I can't imagine he'd have suddenly blocked up the tunnel now."

"We could just get books, like we always do?" Ron suggested, sounding at a loss.

Harry opened his mouth to comment but Draco shook his head. "I'm pretty sure our bookshelves keep changing what's on them, so I don't think she's going to run out of stuff to read any time soon."

"Damn," Ron said gloomily.

There was silence for a second, before Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Perfume, make up, clothes, stationery, shoes, chocolate, alcohol, a game… There are a lot more ideas than just books!"

Harry looked at her thoughtfully, "Some of those aren't bad," he admitted. "We have to leave Thorpe Park at 6 on Saturday she said right? And then we don't really have any plans except killing time until 11?"

Draco nodded, "Yeah, so?"

Harry shrugged, "So we COULD go and sit in a Muggle pub all night, or we could come back here and party."

Ron frowned at Harry, "We've already had two parties and we're not even a month in. What makes you think Hermione will want another one?"

Harry grinned, "Because we'll plan this one! If we leave it to Hermione, she'll cook and prep the same way she did last time, and then she'll be so worried about hosting she won't get to just chill out."

"Okay," Pansy said sounding sceptical, "I think I like where you're going with this, but how do we make it different to every other Hogwarts party?"

"That's easy," Luna said, "Make it muggle themed."

For a second everyone stared at her. "That's sort of brilliant!" Ron said eventually. "We'll have a totally magic free day anyways right? Except for the travelling which can't really be helped. So we could have muggle party games or whatever it is happens at muggle parties." He trailed off, looking at Harry for ideas.

Harry shrugged, looking a bit lost, "You forget I didn't exactly have parties at the Dursley's. I could figure it out though, I mean it's mostly just like wizard parties – we can eat, play drinking games, have some silly Muggle games like Twister and stuff."

Draco nodded, "I like it. Don't Weasley's Wizard Wheezes have a small muggle section too?"

"Yeah," Ron agreed, looking excited, "They started stocking a few muggle bits basically just to make Dad happy, but then they really took off. They do loads of muggle board games now that I think about it." He looked at Draco suspiciously, "How do you know that anyway?"

Draco shrugged, "Someone must have mentioned it at some point," he said nonchalantly.

"So we need to organise drinks, food, games, and of course a cake," Pansy said authoritatively. "And it might be nice if we invited a few more of your friends and surprised her."

For a second they gaped at her, and she just grinned, "I like organising stuff. Tracey, think you could take care of the cake?"

Tracey nodded, "Definitely. What does she like?"

"Chocolate!" Ron, Harry and Draco said simultaneously.

"Okay, you three," Pansy pointed at Harry, Ron and Draco, "are in charge of entertainment. Games and stuff are on you." She looked at them critically, "Think you can manage that?"

The three looked at each other slightly warily but assured her that they could. "We'll head down to Hogsmeade one night this week and get everything."

She nodded, "I'll get Ginny to help me take care of the food, and I'll decorate. Daphne, think you could help Blaise and Draco with drinks and make sure their cocktails aren't too overboard?"

Daphne grinned wickedly. "Okay, bad plan. Daph, you can help with the cake instead. Luna, think you can control the boys' drinks recipes and also get some sneaky invites out to our surprise guests?"

"Of course," Luna said. "Piece of cake."

"Right then," Pansy said decisively, "Here's the plan…"


End file.
